Mirror, Mirror
by ChrisPro999
Summary: Imagine the worst case scenerio of meeting your twin...or twins. COMPLETED! YAY! Last chapter up! Read & Review!
1. Preface

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I don't own anything… All persons, icons, characters, and places belong to the people who created Code: Lyoko… I'm just a fan._

**Quick Preface/Background**

X.A.N.A is back behind bars, so to speak. Jeremie has discovered that it takes seven codes to truly keep him there, which he calls "Seals", appropriately. After which, he can finally turn off the quantum computer for good. Especially now since Aelita has all her memories, including the ones that X.A.N.A. stole from her when she first arrived on Lyoko with Dr. Franz Hopper.

Of course, X.A.N.A isn't going to take it lying down. He's been fighting Team Lyoko, almost tooth & nail, to regain his freedom. But despite X.A.N.A.'s opposition, the Kids from Kadic are determined to lock X.A.N.A. away and then pull the plug for good.

Team Lyoko has been gathering data from Sector 5 needed to lock the seven Seals, in order, and they have already locked the first one. The first Seal restricts X.A.N.A. personal movements in the real world and limits the number of towers he can activate during a day. Despite the restrictions of this Seal, X.A.N.A. is still incredibly powerful and doesn't seem to mind showing it off.

At the beginning of this chapter in the lives of Team Lyoko, they are on a mission to gather more data to finish sealing the Second Seal….


	2. Mysterious Acts

**_Disclaimer:_**_ I don't own anything… All persons, icons, characters, and places belong to the people who created Code: Lyoko… I'm just a fan._

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part I: Mysterious Acts**

By: Chris Provence

"Come on, guys, pick it up! The timer is almost down to zero!", shouts Jeremie over the headset. "Easier said than done, Einstein! These shifting walls in this maze keeps slowing us up.", Odd replies as he dodges a closing wall.

"There! Up on that ledge! There's the switch!", Yumi says pointing to a small outcropping just above the maze wall height.

"Ha! Leave it to me. You guys just hang on for a minute longer. This'll be quick!", Odd says with a huge grin on his face and takes off. "Be careful, Odd.", says Aelita.

Ulrich shakes his head as he taps the dull side of his katana on his right shoulder. "Careful isn't in his vocabulary. You should know that by now.", he says.

"Heads up, guys, you've got monsters incoming.", states Jeremie. "Tarantulas. Nice.", states Yumi sarcastically as she pulls out her fans. "There's four of them coming at you but a fifth is heading towards Odd.", says Jeremie. "I hear you, Jeremie.", says Odd as he leaps up to the ledge. "But this one's in the bag!" Odd slaps the switch and turns to see the walls of the labyrinth lower into the floor producing an empty, flat room. He gives a thumbs up as the fifth tarantula falls to the floor and explodes. Ulrich blocks two laser blasts with his katana as Yumi tosses one of her fans from behind him. It finds it's mark and the tarantula explodes. Aelita dodges a blast from another tarantula and Ulrich uses his super speed to hit it from behind. "Hey guys, save me some of the action!", says Odd running over to the group. The next tarantula finds itself surrounded by Odd and Ulrich as the final tarantula tries desperately to hit a very acrobatic Yumi. She flips up and over a couple of blasts and tosses a fan. Aelita notices a shadow of movement from the direction of the exit. Odd fires a couple of laser-arrows to distract the tarantula. Ulrich sees the open window and attacks. The last two tarantulas explode almost simultaneously. A shriek from Aelita catches everyone's attention. They turn to see the Scyphozoa nearly on top of her. Odd fires two rounds as Yumi tosses both her fans. All find their mark and the creature backs off, shrieking in pain. Aelita leaps up and runs toward the exit. "Time to leave the wonderful world of Sector 5 already? Man, just when it got to feeling like home!", Odd says smirking.

The group runs out the exit and sees the elevator coming up from underneath them. They all jump on and are whisked away. The elevator finally stops and the four exit out of the dome. "Ok, here comes the vehicles.", says Jeremie typing away on the keyboard. Once all three Over-vehicles appear, Aelita activates the data interface and begins to collect more information. "Work quickly, Princess. We've got company.", says Odd and points to where three Mantas "hatch" from the sector boundary. "I should be done in a minute.", she replies without stopping. Ulrich hops onto his Overbike and Yumi jumps onto her Overwing. "Stay here and guard Aelita. The Scyphozoa could still be hanging out near by.", Yumi says to Odd. "We'll keep those Manta occupied until she finishes." Odd smiles and nods as the pair take off. "Looks like I've got bodyguard duty once again, Princess. Hope you don't mind." Aelita smiles as she works and replies, "I haven't minded before. Why start now? It's Jeremie that might mind!" Jeremie looks at the screen shocked at her statement. "What!", he exclaims, nearly knocking his headset off. Aelita laughs and winks at him. "Just practicing my humor, Jeremie. There, I've finished. I'm sending the data and you can have control back." Jeremie snorts and frowns. "I think Odd is rubbing off on you. Now if you are through telling jokes, it's time for you guys to head back to the desert sector. I've detected a tower just going active there." "Ah, our job's never done is it? Well, Princess, your carriage awaits you!", says Odd hopping on the Overboard. Aelita giggles and steps on it with him.

Yumi dodges another mine coming straight at her and glances behind her to see the final Manta slam into it and explode. Ulrich sheaths his katana and pulls up next to her. "Nice moves, Yumi." "Thanks. You too." The two blush and smile nervously at each other. Odd and Aelita joins them and asks, "I don't suppose you two left any for me?" "Um, not this time. But I'm sure that since the tower in the desert sector is active, there'll be plenty of monsters for you to waste. Ok, Jeremie, we're ready to go now.", Ulrich says. "Roger. Activating the data stream.", replies Jeremie as he finishes typing the commands. The group flies in to the stream.

Deep inside the core of Sector 5, an expectant X.A.N.A waits eagerly. If he had a mouth, a large, excited, and evil grin would be plastered on it.

The teleporter takes off back into the sky and disappears. "Ok, the tower is just about a hundred meters due north of your position.", states Jeremie. "What about the welcoming committee? What does that consist of?", asks Yumi. "Um, well, that's a weird thing. I'm not picking any monsters up just yet but keep your eyes peeled. They could spring up at any moment!", warns Jeremie. "Gotcha, Einstein! Let's go!", says Odd.

They arrive at the tower without incident. "This worries me. X.A.N.A activated tower and didn't send any monsters to protect it. It's as if he wanted us to get this close without being held up.", says Yumi with a worried look on her face as she looks all around the surrounding area intensely. "Yeah, I know. This… could be a trap. Stay sharp.", agrees Ulrich fingering the handle of his katana. A very tense moment passes and finally Odd breaks the silence. "Should we let Aelita enter the tower and deactivate it?" Just then, Aelita grips Odd's shoulder tightly and gasps. "Odd….", she barely squeaks out. Odd turns to ask her what is wrong but stops when he sees what she sees. Ulrich and Yumi turn and gasp themselves. The familiar growl of the Scyphozoa breaks the silence as it floats down between the group and the tower. Ulrich and Yumi hop off their vehicles and draw their weapons. Odd frowns and turns the Overboard around as to put himself between Aelita and the Scyphozoa. He raises his arm and cocks his laser arrow. Suddenly Ulrich hears a tremendous commotion behind him. He turns and grows wide-eyed. "Whoa…" is the only thing he can say. Yumi glances at him and turns also. "No way… Um, Jeremie….", she starts. Jeremie blinks and rubs his eyes in disbelief. He adjusts his glasses and swallows nervously. "I see them! I… I don't know where they came from! They weren't there just a minute ago! I count…. twenty Mega-tanks. There's no way you can take on that many! Just try to distract them while Aelita gets into the tower and deactivates it." "Wait. Why aren't they attacking?", asks Ulrich. "I don't know, but focus on getting the Scyphozoa out of Aelita's way to the tower.", replies Jeremie. "No problem.", smiles Odd deviously as he takes aim at the Eye of the Scyphozoa. Then, the Scyphozoa raises all it's tentacles and points them at the four. The tentacle's tips begin to glow with an electric blue color. "This is new…" is all Odd can say before blue lightning streaks out toward them. Each bolt strikes all four of them fully. Aelita screams in pain and falls to the ground hard. Odd too yells and accidentally fires a laser-arrow wildly but it just thunks into a rock harmlessly. He, too, falls to the ground as the Overboard de-virtualizes beneath him. Ulrich and Yumi are caught from behind and yelp in pain before falling forward to the ground. Ulrich tries to look over at Yumi but can't focus on her. Then, a deep blackness floods his mind. Finally, there is nothing.

"Odd! Yumi! Ulrich! Aelita!"

The voice seems so distant to Aelita. As if it were a mile away.

"Aelita! Aelita! Can you hear me? Odd! Ulrich! Yumi, are you there?"

_That voice. So… familiar…. Head hurts…_ Aelita's thoughts are interrupted by a stab of pain in her head.

"Come on, guys! Give me a sign! Please!"

_Jeremie….? Is that…..? It is….Jeremie…. Wait… the others… where….?_

She strains to open her eyes and lift her head. She sees Odd next to her lying motionless. She turns painfully to look for Ulrich and Yumi. She sees them lying face-down motionless also. Just then, a voice pierces the apparent silence.

"Aelita! Aelita, are you ok? Answer me, please, Aelita!"

"Jeremie?"

"Aelita! You're awake! Oh my gosh! You're awake!"

"Jeremie! What… happened?"

"I'm not sure. That was something new from the Scyphozoa. What about the others? Are they ok?", Jeremie asks. Aelita glances around at the others and replies, "I'll check and see."

"Odd?"

_No…. it's a Saturday….. No school… today…._

"Odd, wake up."

"Umph, five…. more minutes….. still sleeping….."

"Odd, wake up. Now."

"No, Kiwi….. go away….. Get Ulrich to take you to the tree….. Sleepy…."

"HEY! WAKE UP!"

Odd bolts awake and rolls over then sits up. Then he grabs his head as pain begins to throb. "Geez… don't hafta shout… ooh, my head." Yumi frowns at him. "Man, I thought we'd have to have Aelita create some water for us to dump on him to get him to wake up. Is he this hard to wake during the school week?" "Just about.", replies Ulrich. "Wait, the Scyphozoa and the tanks! Where… are they?", Ulrich continues whirling around, looking frantically for the monsters. "Jeremie, where are the Mega-tanks and the Scyphozoa?", asks Yumi. "Uh, I'm not sure. Shortly after the Scyphozoa blasted you, well, I really don't know. The Scyphozoa behaved rather…oddly. It moved over to each one of you. I'm not sure why or what it did, but it didn't steal anyone's memories, not even Aelita's.", he replies. "Not like it needs to anymore….", interjects Yumi frowning. "Anyways, the Mega-tanks just sat there. Once the Scyphozoa was done, they all left. And here's the weird part. The tower de-activated all by itself. I also checked the news out here and nothing was going on. Apparently X.A.N.A. concentrated only on you guys." Yumi helps Odd stand and he brushes himself off. "Well, if there's nothing else to do, how about bringing us home?", Odd asks. "Yeah, I'd like to get a little rest before Ms. Hertz' class.", agrees Ulrich. "Give me a moment to check the rest of the towers. I also want to scan each of you to make sure the Scyphozoa didn't mess with your digital DNA or implant you with something.", replies Jeremie typing away at the keyboard. "Then, I'll start bringing you home."

Yumi opens her eyes and blinks a few times to get them to adjust quicker. She sees the typical golden interior of the scanner and stands carefully, bracing herself against the wall of the scanner. The doors open and through the steam exiting the scanner, she sees her Ulrich standing in front of the scanner waiting, hands in his pockets, smiling big at her. She returns the smile and steps out. Her leg nearly gives out due to weakness, but he's there to catch and steady her. "Thanks.", she whispers to him. "Anytime.", he replies just as softly. "You know, you two do a horrible job of being modest in front of us." Ulrich snaps his head toward the voice. "I mean, we all know that you two are a thing now. You don't have to hide it from us. Just be open about it!", Odd continues with his hands stretched open wide and with a huge smile on his face. "Odd! Shut up!", snaps Ulrich. "Yeah, Odd. Maybe we don't want you guys to see us… having a moment.", Yumi says carefully choosing her words as to not be too lewd. "There ARE times when we don't want to SHARE our… moments, as Yumi tactfully put them.", says Ulrich. Odd chuckles and replies, "Yeah, well, try harder next time. Anyways, Einstein wants to show you something. He's waiting for us upstairs."

Jeremie sets his headset down on the keyboard and sighs. Aelita gently touches his left arm and smiles softly at him. "It just bugs me, Aelita. I still can't figure out what the Scyphozoa did while you all where unconscious." Just then the doors open to the computer room where they are at and Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi step in and gather around the computer screen. "What's up, Jeremie? Odd said you wanted to show us something.", says Yumi crossing her arms and gently leaning against Ulrich. "Yes, I think that last bit of data Aelita downloaded will be enough to lock the second of the seven Seals needed to re-contain X.A.N.A on Lyoko. And… that's the good news." "Uh-oh. Usually after 'good news' comes 'bad news'.", states Odd raising his eyebrows worriedly. Jeremie sighs again and feels a gentle squeeze from Aelita's hand on his arm as he searches for the right words. "Well, I… don't know what all happened when the Scyphozoa blasted you. I've reviewed the video log a couple of times, but I can't really tell what went on.", he says looking down at the floor. "Hey, don't sweat it, Jeremie. You'll figure it out.", reassures Ulrich. "Yeah, we have faith in you.", agrees Yumi. "Though it will have to wait until tomorrow. It is getting late and Jim will be very upset if catches us out again.", says Aelita indicating the time on the computer screen. Ulrich's heart sinks. "Aw, man! I STILL have to study for my chemistry test tomorrow!", he says wiping his face with his hand. Jeremie sides to the floor next to Aelita. "Well, even still, once I have some free time tomorrow, I will work on what happened today."

Ulrich and Yumi arrive at the Ishiyama house and Yumi unlocks the front gate. Ulrich hesitates for a moment before following. Yumi turns and smiles at him comforting. He returns the smile with a weak smile and follows her up to the front door. She opens the door and steps in. "Hey, you gonna just stand out there or come inside?", she asks, poking her head out the door. He swallows nervously and steps inside. "Mom? I'm home. And I have a guest.", says Yumi. Ulrich can feel his heart begin to race as he hears foot steps coming down the staircase. He feels sweat begin to form on his brow. "Hey, relax, Babe, it's going to be alright. I've had a week to prepare them for this.", Yumi says taking his hand and gently squeezing it. He smiles as best as he can.

"Hey, Yumi! Whoa…!", says a young boy's voice. "Ulrich! Wow! You ARE really here! Cool!"

Ulrich sees Yumi's younger brother Hiroki come barreling toward him from the foot of the stairs.

"I thought Yumi was just making it up that you two were really…."

"Hiroki!", Yumi says sternly with a bit of aggravation.

"Hey, can you show me some of those cool karate moves?", Hiroki asks excitedly.

"Um, it's not karate…", Ulrich starts.

"Hiroki, don't bother us! Where's mom?", Yumi interjects.

"Aww, you're no fun! Look, I'm glad Ulrich is gonna be hangin' around more! I'd rather have had a big brother than a lousy, annoying big sister….", Hiroki says giving Yumi an ugly look and crossing his arms. "Mom's upstairs. She'll be down in a minute." He turns and walks into the living room.

"Oh! Your shoes!", says Yumi suddenly bending down and beginning to untie her boots.

"Oh, right.", he says and unties his shoes. He'd never really been in Yumi's house before but he knew that they still held onto some of the traditions of their homeland. He sets his shoes next to Yumi's and shoves his hands back into his pockets. He hears another set of footsteps coming down the staircase. Yumi slides next to him and winks at him. He tries to calm himself as he sees Yumi's mother stop at the foot of the stairs and look up to see the two standing there.

"Oh! Yumi, you're home a bit early. And this must be Ulrich.", she says stepping towards them. She smiles gently. "Good to finally meet you. Officially."

Ulrich returns the smile weakly and replies politely, "Nice to finally meet you too, Mrs. Ishiyama."

"Yumi has told us a lot about you. I'm glad that we can get to know you more on the face-to-face level.", Mrs. Ishiyama replies. "Please, come in and sit."

"Thank you, Ma'am, I will, but I can't stay too long. I, uh, have to get back to my dorm and finish studying for my chemistry exam tomorrow.", Ulrich says.

"Well, it's good to know that you are putting your studies ahead of everything else. Unlike another boy in this house!", she replies turning to look at Hiroki. Hiroki sees his mother glaring at him and stands up quickly.

"Um, I just remembered! I, uh, have to finishing…. doubling checking my… math!", Hiroki says off the top of his head as he takes off upstairs. Ulrich smiles and remembers that he used to do that same thing.

"Where's dad? I thought he was going to be here?", asks Yumi as the three walk into the living room.

Her mother sighs and sits down. "His boss called earlier and asked if he could work a little bit tonight. I guess that comes with the recent promotion… Anyways, I'm interested in what you want to be Ulrich when you get out of school." Ulrich smiles, feeling a bit more relaxed, and says, "Well, Yumi did warn me that you would play Twenty Questions." Mrs. Ishiyama chuckles and replies, "Just twenty? She didn't prepare YOU very well then!" Yumi sighs in embarrassment and says, "Oh, mother, please don't make him anymore nervous than he already is!"

Odd waves good night to Jeremie and Aelita then enters his dorm and closes the door. Jeremie sighs nervously and blushes. His mind races, trying to find a suitable good night to say to Aelita. He feels her take his hand.

"Jeremie?"

He feels his glasses begin to slide down his nose. "Yes, Aelita?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, uh, just… about… what happened. I mean, something seriously bad could have happened to you!"

Aelita giggles. "You know, you should really stick to the truth. It's what you are good at."

Jeremie swallows nervously. He's still new at this, not like Ulrich and Yumi. They've been officially together for a lot longer. They have the one thing he lacks: experience at this boyfriend – girlfriend thing.

"Yeah, I know.", he replies.

"True, something could have happened to us, but for whatever reason it didn't. And another thing, don't worry, like Ulrich said. I know you can figure out what happened. And I will help you to figure it out. But right now, I want to know what is on your mind.", Aelita says.

"I—I'm still new at this…."

"So am I. But that doesn't stop me from sharing my thoughts with you, Jeremie."

"I know. And I will try harder. As for what's truly on my mind right now. Well, I'm trying to figure out the best way to say good night….", he says trailing off at the end.

Aelita smiles at him warmly and he sees a sly gleam in her eyes.

"Need some help finding a way?", she asks softly.

Jeremie finds himself smiling at the idea. "Yes, if you don't mind…."

"Not at all….."

The kiss takes him by surprise. He feels as if he's dreaming in third person and watching himself kiss Aelita there in the hallway. It lasts for what seems like an eternity, then Aelita pulls back and he is snapped back. Aelita giggles and gently shoves his glasses back upon his face.

"How's that for a good night?" she asks.

"Wow….", he states. "Couldn't have been better…."

"Good night, Jeremie. I'll see you in the morning." She turns away and starts walking down the hallway, glancing back and smiling at him.

"Good night, Aelita." He turns and enters his room, still swimming from the kiss.

Odd plops down on his bed and Kiwi hops up with him and begins to lick is master's face. "Hey, buddy! Yeah, I missed ya too!" Odd begins to scratch Kiwi's head as his cell phone rings. "Now, who could that be?", he muses and picks it up. His eyes grow wide as the caller ID pops up. "Sam?", he asks in mild shock.

"Hello?"

"Um, Odd?"

"Yeah, Sam, it's me. What's up?"

"Well, I, uh, just wanted to call you and um, apologize…."

Kiwi rolls over onto his back and Odd rubs his stomach. "Hey, it's ok, Sam. And to be honest…", he pauses. This is definitely new ground for him. "I kinda deserved what you said…."

"No. Not like I said it."

"Hey, it got through to me."

Kiwi barks happily.

"Was that Kiwi?"

"Yeah, it was. Imagine that!"

"You know, I'm surprised that Jim hasn't caught him in your room yet…"

"Oh, he has. He just doesn't remember it."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

Odd sighs and smiles. "Never mind. Maybe someday I'll explain."

"Whatever. Still the same Odd. Never making any sense. Well, I'll let you go. My turn in the shower is almost here and I can't miss it or I'll end up with cold water…Bye, Odd."

"Bye.", he says and hangs up. He lays back on the bed and sets his phone back on the nightstand. Kiwi sees an opportunity and climbs up on Odd's chest. "Well, Kiwi, looks like it's just you and me only still. Not that I mind because you're the best dog a guy could ask for!" Kiwi barks happily again and licks Odd's face as Odd pets him.

Deep in Sector 5, X.A.N.A stirs. Not requiring rest like the weak fleshlings, he works to perfect his latest work. Working through the Scyphozoa, he finishes making adjustments on a strange pod. X.A.N.A surveys his work.

_It is… good. Soon, my children will rise…._

X.A.N.A instructs the Scyphozoa to leave the strange pods and returns to his other plans.


	3. Unveiling

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything… All persons, icons, characters, and places belong to the people who created Code: Lyoko… I'm just a fan. _

_P.S. I leave what happened with Kiwi to the imaginations of you readers! _

**Code:Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror **

**Part II: Unveiling**

Ulrich shifts under his bed sheets and secretly wishes the alarm clock would blow up, but it's persistent beeping is too much. He reaches from under the covers and turns it off. Ulrich tosses back his covers and yawns. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and, to his amazement, sees that Odd has already gone. "I must still be asleep if Odd is up this early….", he says swinging his feet off the bed and into his sandals. He stands and walks sleepily to his chest of drawers and pulls out his usual attire. He yawns again and scratches his head as he tosses his khakis and shirt over his shoulder and opens the door. As he steps out, he sees Jeremie come out of his room, also in a sleepy stupor.

"Hey, Jeremie."

"Morning, Ulrich. Did you finish studying for your chemistry exam?"

"Yeah, barely. I just hope I'm not too tired to remember any of it."

"How did things go last night at Yumi's house?"

"Well, her mother didn't throw me out of the house, so I guess it went ok. But, man, can Yumi's mom talk. I didn't get back here till almost ten-thirty. And I still stayed up until about twelve forty-five studying. Say, by the way, have you seen Odd? When I woke up, he was gone already."

Jeremie cups his hand over his mouth to shield Ulrich from his yawn and any morning breath he may have before responding. "No, I haven't. Though, I thought I heard him on his cell phone in the hallway the first time I woke. But I can't be too sure. I could have just been dreaming." Ulrich nods slightly and tries to suppress another yawn but fails. The pair walk down the hallway towards the shower room. As they approach, they notice that the line is unusually short. Just then, Herb and Nicholas exit the shower room clutching their damp towels and pajamas with a look of disdain on their faces.

"Idiot.", says Herb.

"And he calls me a moron….", states Nicholas.

"Uh, what's going on?", asks Ulrich, unsure if he wants to get involved.

Nicholas steps up to him and shoves his finger in Ulrich's chest. "He's YOUR friend! YOU need to set him straight before I do!"

"Well, what happened?", asks Jeremie meekly, not wanting to get too involved.

Herb turns to him and replies angrily, "Two words: Dumb Dog."

Ulrich and Jeremie turn to each other and in unison say, "Uh-oh."

Meanwhile, Aelita finishes combing her hair and surveys her reflection in her mirror. She smiles with approval and stands. Aelita congratulates herself on getting herself ready despite waking up just a bit late, though it did help that most of the other girls had already showered, gotten ready, and left for breakfast. She turns to her desk and picks up her text and note books, glances at herself in the mirror to check her looks one last time, and nods again in approval. She hopes that Jeremie will also approve of her new outfit that she picked out. Of course, Yumi had a hand in the process, but it was mostly her choice. Aelita then turns and exits her room, locking it behind her.

"Well, well. Isn't it Aelita. Running a bit late, are we, _princess_?", comes a voice from farther down the hall with a bit of snootiness and sarcasm. Aelita didn't have to guess to whom the voice belonged.

"Good morning to you too, _Elizabeth_.", Aelita says with just a hint of sarcasm.

"It's Sissi! How many times do I have to tell you!", replies Sissi growing angry. "You'd think with as smart as you are, you'd learn that by now! I hate Elizabeth!"

"Well, I don't understand why you can't just live with it. After all, it IS your name. Your parents named you that."

Sissi snorts and turns away. "Well, they didn't say that I HAD to keep it! So when I get old enough, I'm having it changed!"

Aelita sighs softly and looks at Sissi in mild pity as Sissi walks off in her usual stuck-up fashion. She still finds it hard to understand how Sissi could be that way. She shakes her head and proceeds down the hall toward the cafeteria.

Yumi enters the cafeteria and quickly scans the room for her boyfriend. She spots all of her friends sitting at a table at the far side and begins to make her way to them. As she gets closer, she sees Jeremie and Ulrich staring at Odd in a bewildered/upset/embarrassed way. Aelita sits next to Jeremie, with an unsure look on her face.

_Uh-oh. What has Odd done this time?_, she thinks to herself. As she nears, she can hear Ulrich talking to Odd.

"I still can't believe you did that!", Ulrich says.

"You are lucky Jim wasn't around, Odd. If he would have seen….", Jeremie starts but stops himself.

"What?", states Odd innocently.

"Odd's acting innocent again. What's he done this time?", asks Yumi sliding down next to Ulrich. She leans over and kisses him and interjects softly to him, "Good morning, Babe." He glances at her and smiles briefly before returning her kiss, then looks down at his half-eaten scrambled eggs and frowns.

Odd glances around the table and goes on the defensive. "I didn't DO anything!"

Jeremie sighs and replies, "True, technically, YOU didn't do anything, but a certain canine in your possession DID."

Odd blushes and puts on a strained smile. "Well, he's never… done THAT before. Kiwi's always had good control before…." Yumi's eyebrows shoot up and her mouth drops open. "Oh, stop! I don't want to know anymore!", she says raising her hand to Odd. Aelita blushes and turns her head and blinks, trying to get the numerous mental pictures out of her head. "I was hungry, but not anymore.", Aelita says shoving her tray away from her. Odd perks up and turns to eye her rejected food. "Oh, really? That's too bad! Can I have the rest?", he asks hungrily. Jeremie looks sideways through the corner of his oval glasses in disbelief. "How can you still be hungry?" "Yeah, I still don't know how you can eat so much and still be so scrawny.", chimes in Ulrich.

Odd shoots him a hurt and stern glance. "I'm not scrawny! Svelte! I'm svelte!" He reaches over and drags Aelita's leftovers to him and begins to finish them off quickly.

Ulrich sighs heavily and runs his hands down his face. "Whatever. All I know is that I'll never go into the shower room without thinking about…. that." Jeremie nods slightly in agreement and pushes his tray of unfinished breakfast toward Odd. Odd looks up at him and gives him a quizzical look. "Take it. I know you want it. Besides, you just can't let it go to waste." Odd smiles big at him and replies simply, "Got that right!"

Odd shovels the last of the food into his mouth and chews it happily as the bell rings for the first class. As the group stands and collects their things, Yumi leans over to Ulrich and asks, "Well, what happened?" Ulrich looks at her in surprise. "You really want to know?", he asks raising his eyebrows in disbelief. Yumi shrugs and replies, "Well, you've pricked my curiosity." "Later. Like, sometime after my stomach stops churning.", he replies stepping around behind her and taking her hand. She blinks and nods, not knowing what to think. "That bad?", she turns to ask. Ulrich just nods. "Oh.", she says.

Later, during lunch break, Aelita and Jeremie walk hand-in-hand around the courtyard of the school. "So, how do you think you did on the pop quiz in Italian class?", she asks, trying her hardest to sound neutral and not to make Jeremie worry. He frowns and replies, "You'd think a guy who can program a quantum computer, send his friends to a virtual world, and turn back time could learn to understand at least ONE full sentence in any foreign language…" Aelita begins to feel bad about her choice in topics and leans her head against his left shoulder.

"I'm sorry I asked you."

"It's ok. I just… need to work at it harder….", he replies and smiles softly at her. Just then, he hears a beeping from his laptop. The pair stop and Jeremie pulls out his laptop, opens the lid, and taps a key to clear the screensaver. "Please don't let it be…", he murmurs. "…crud." He pulls out his cell phone and Aelita glances at the screen. Her heart sinks to her stomach. Jeremie finishes dialing and waits for Ulrich to answer.

Five minutes later, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie enter the factory elevator. Jeremie taps in the code on the keypad and the elevator begins descending to the computer room. Finally, the elevator stops and the doors open. Jeremie steps out and turns to Odd and Aelita. "Ok, you two, head on down to the scanner room. Hopefully, Yumi and Ulrich can get away soon to come and help, but for now, do what you can. And… be careful.", he says focusing his gaze onto his girlfriend. Aelita smiles reassuringly at him and replies, "We always are." Odd gives Jeremie a thumbs up and a huge smile as he presses the elevator button. The doors close and Jeremie hears the elevator begin to descend again. He sighs softy to himself and then takes his seat at the keyboard.

"Ok, Jeremie, we're ready!", states Odd.

"Roger. Scanner: Odd. Scanner: Aelita."

Odd feels the familiar tingle throughout his body and, despite the copious times he's been through this process, it still feels…. weird.

"Transfer: Odd. Transfer: Aelita."

Odd smiles to himself. This was the part that he enjoyed the most.

"Virtualization!"

Odd feels the sensation of floating and opens his eyes. For a split second, the panoramic view of the mountain region fills his vision. Then, he focuses on his landing. He glances around and sees Aelita rise from her squat. He stands and surveys the landscape. "Alright, Jeremie, where's the tower at?", he asks. "It's approximately 75 meters south by south-west of your position, but be careful. That section of the mountain sector has lots of sheer drop-offs and numerous hiding places. Not to mention, plenty of narrow passages to go through!", Jeremie replies. Odd turns to Aelita and asks, "Ready to go, Princess?" Aelita nods and sees the Overboard materialize. Odd turns and smiles. "A bit slow bringing the Overboard online, are we, Jeremie?", he says playfully. "Hey, cut me some slack, ok? I'm doing five different things here. Besides, the computer seems to be running unusually slow.", replies Jeremie. "Relax, Einstein. Just giving you a hard time." Jeremie grunts and frowns. "As usual. Look, just get to the tower quickly. I'm not sure what X.A.N.A. is up to just yet." "Roger that.", Odd says and hops onto the Overboard. Aelita hops on behind him and the two take off toward the tower.

Jeremie pecks away at the keyboard. "Now what could be using that much processing power?", he whispers to himself as he pours over the computer logs. Then, the cell phone icon on the screen enlarges and begins ringing. He clicks on it and an avatar of Yumi sides from it's left side.

"Yumi! Where are you guys?"

"We're still stuck in gym class. History class was cancelled and Jim got the bright idea for an extended workout.", she replies whispering. "It'll be awhile before we even get a chance to get away!"

Jeremie frowns in disgust. "Figures. Leave it to Jim to get an idea. Well, try to get here. If Odd runs into trouble, he'll need your help."

"Odd's tough. I'm sure he can hold out until we get there. Look, I gotta go! Jim'll take my phone if he catches me using it! Bye!"

Yumi's picture slides away and the phone icon returns to its previous size. Jeremie adjusts his glasses and pulls up the scan of the area where Odd and Aelita are in.

"Bad news, guys. You're going to be on your own for a while."

"Why? Where are Yumi and Ulrich? Are they ok?", asks Aelita, concerned.

"Well, if you call being in an extended gym class with Jim 'ok', then, yes, they are. It's going to take them quite a while to get here. You are going to have to hold out until they get here."

"That figures. We'll do our best, Jeremie. Don't worry about that!" , replies Odd.

"Strange. There are no monsters after us."

Aelita's observation hits Jeremie and he realizes it too. "Just like… before…" He shudders as memories flood his mind.

Odd frowns and scans the path before him intensely for any sign of X.A.N.A.'s creatures. Suddenly, a vision of the future blinds him. The shock of the vision coming to him causes him to swerve violently, nearly slamming into the rock face. He somehow regains control and lands. Odd watches the vision play out in his mind. He sees a dark figure…. and… what are those? Claws? Aelita can be seen in the background with a horrified look on her face. Then, in a blur of motion, he sees two swipes of claws toward him and hears a scream….

Odd realizes that it is himself that is screaming. He stops and looks down at his chest wide-eyed. Aelita is next to him, gripping his shoulders, trying to shake him back to his senses.

"Odd! Snap out of it!", she says loudly.

He gasps and looks up at her. She gasps as she sees the fear and bewilderment on his face.

"Wha—What did you see?", Aelita asks, trying to calm both him and herself down.

"I—I saw a figure. And a pair of claws. It attacked me! I—felt them hit me! I've never felt anything through a vision before! Nor have I ever had one this powerful!"

"You… felt the attack? How can that happen?", states Aelita.

"I don't know, but something bad's gonna happen to me!", he states, still trying to absorb all that the vision showed him.

"What can you tell me about the figure? Maybe we can use that to our advantage.", Aelita says releasing him.

Odd blinks for a minute, trying to collect all that he can about the figure. "Nothing, really. Except…. That it was very familiar to me… I don't know why it was, er, will be, rather. I just can't place it."

"Well, I'd advise you to proceed with extreme caution from here on out. Remember, you two are the only hope of deactivating the tower right now, so don't take any unnecessary risks.", states Jeremie firmly.

Odd blinks again and slowly nods as he refocuses his energy to the task at hand. "Right. Protect Aelita until she deactivates the tower. Gotcha." He turns to Aelita and sees the worry in her face. He puts on a big smile and hopes that it reassures her. "Well, are you ready to continue on?" Aelita nods slightly and the two get back on the Overboard and take to the air again.

Upon arriving at the tower, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie watch as the tower suddenly deactivates by itself.

"What the…? Not again!", exclaims Odd in bewilderment. Aelita frowns and looks around the immediate area. Jeremie, equally baffled, runs another scan and confirms that the tower is indeed deactivated.

"What is going on here!", exclaims Odd as he lands the Overboard. "This is twice X.A.N.A. has activated a tower and then deactivated it when we get here! What's he doing?" Aelita touches his arm and says, "What is that?" Odd turns to see Aelita pointing at a large pod of some sort partially obscured from view and propped up against a boulder. "I don't know. Jeremie?" Jeremie looks at the screen in confusion. He hears the elevator door open and two sets of footsteps coming towards him, but he ignores them. "I have no idea. I've never seen anything like it nor have I read about any king of 'pods' in Franz Hopper's diaries. This is something completely new…" Ulrich clears his throat. "We came as soon as we could. What have we missed?", asks Ulrich, trying to get a glimpse of the computer screen, but Jeremie's head is so close to the screen that it blocks his view. Jeremie glances at him quickly and replies. "A lot. X.A.N.A. once again deactivated the tower when Odd and Aelita arrived. But that's not the half of it. Odd had a vision that he actually felt an attack in. Now, Aelita has discovered a strange pod partially hidden in the boulders."

Odd hops up on top of the boulders and peers down at the pod. "It's open! As if there was something in it!"

Jeremie gasps and sits back in his chair. Yumi and Ulrich stand there next to him in awe. "Odd! Get away from there! Whatever came out of the pod could still be close by!", he exclaims. Just then, the scanner registers three more towers going active. "Oh, no! Three more towers just activated! Yumi, Ulrich, get to the scanner room, quickly! Odd, Aelita, head towards the passage tower to the desert sector and deactivate that tower. Yumi, I'm sending you to the forest sector and Ulrich to the Glacier. Hold off any monsters there…. if any… and await Aelita's arrival to deactivate those towers." Odd hops down from the boulder and says, "Yeah, if they stay activated long enough TO deactivate…"

Minutes later, Yumi stands before the forest tower, glowering up at it. _Dang it! Just like the other tower! X.A.N.A. deactivated it when I got here!_, she thinks to herself. She surveys the surrounding area, looking for signs of life. Then, she notices a strange pod nearby, similar to the one Odd discovered.

Ulrich jabs his katana into the icy ground in disgust. He growls in anger and wishes X.A.N.A. would stop playing games and just show up. He lets out a quick sigh and scans the barren, icy landscape. Then, he too notices an open pod.

Odd shoots a rock nearby five times to let off some steam. Aelita touches his shoulder to try and calm him down. "X.A.N.A., you coward! Come out and fight!", he screams up at the digital sky. Then, he hears a noise from a dark outcropping. The scanner suddenly registers another life-sign in the area. Jeremie looks at the signature in utter bewilderment.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get….", says a strangely familiar voice from the outcropping. Odd sees a figure in the shadows and gasps as he realizes that this is what he saw in his vision. Aelita turns toward the voice and freezes in fear. There is a sound of metallic claws extending quickly. Odd stands frozen in fear as the figure crouches, almost feline-like; almost like—him. Then, in a blur of blindingly quick speed, the figure attacks Odd.

Two swipes. Only two. No more. And it was over. The first struck Odd in a downward motion across the chest. The other came up across his chest from underneath and sent him airborne. But he never came down. Odd de-virtualized almost immediately after the second attack sent him airborne. He didn't have time to scream this time…

Jeremie nearly shoves the doors to the scanner open quicker than they can actually open. He sees Odd lying on the floor of the scanner unconscious. "ODD!", he yells and crouches down next to him. Odd lays motionless for what seems like an eternity before stirring. Suddenly, Odd bursts into a scream of pain and clutches his chest. Tears begin to pour from his eyes as Jeremie looks dumbfounded at him, trying to get his brain to work. Odd sobs violently then gasps for air. He opens his teary, red eyes and realizes that Jeremie is above him. "Odd! Are you alright?", Jeremie asks, barely containing his own outburst of emotion. Odd tries to sit up, but is too weak and slumps back to the floor. Jeremie helps him up and notices that Odd is unusually quiet. _I've never seen him so shaken. But then again, considering what attacked him, I can understand why he is so shaken._, Jeremie thinks. The pair return to the computer room and Jeremie gently lays his friend on the floor, then retakes his seat.

Aelita stands before the figure shocked and frozen with fear herself. "No… it can't be….", she manages to get out. The figure smiles deviously and narrows it's eyes at her. "Oh, it is, Aelita.", it says. Then, from behind the figure, comes a sound of footsteps. The footsteps stop at the edge of the shadow. Aelita shakes her head in dismay.

"You look so much like…" ,she starts before getting cut off.

The first figure's smile disappears and says, "No. I AM."

Aelita shakes her head in disbelief. "No! You can't be! It's impossible!"

The smile returns. "Nah, not really."

"But you look exactly like…Odd!"

The figure takes a step toward her and laughs devilishly, "No, it's deeper than that. I AM Odd!" The figure pauses. "Well, actually my name is Dod. Kind of a stupid name, if you ask me. Shoulda been named something like Reaper. But no, had to have been a ridiculous anagram of Odd's name. Humph." Dod turns to the second figure that is still concealed by the shadow of the outcropping. "You want me to take her out too?", he asks. Aelita looks over Dod's appearance. It is very similar to Odd's uniform except the yellow dog isn't in the middle of the chest. The tail is, she notices, seems to be a bit more functional and manipulative than Odd's tail, which seems almost, at times, merely decorative.

"No, I will deal with her myself. Stay out of my way, Dod."

The voice of the second figure snaps Aelita back to her senses as she realizes the voice is extremely close to hers. The figure steps out of the shadows and pauses dramatically. Aelita nearly faints as she sees a nearly perfect reflection of herself in the second figure. Only the clothes are different. The woman is wearing a black top with red trim similar to Aelita's except she doesn't have on an undershirt, thus showing her naval and a good portion of her chest, to which Aelita blushes slightly. Never would have _she_ dressed like that. The skirt is red with black trim and her leggings are black with red straps and shoes. The figure stands with an evil gleam in her eye and places her left hand on her hip.

"Oh, finally deciding to get you precious hands dirty, are we, Princess Atilea?", mocks Dod with a smirk on his face. Atilea shoots him a glance. "Shut up, you half-wit.", she replies with a scowl. Atilea raises her right hand to her side and smiles at Aelita. She begins to chuckle and Aelita sees a rather large rock form mid-air above Atilea's outstretched hand. "Surprised I could do that? And it took so little effort!", Atilea says in a tone that slightly mocks Aelita. "Here, let me show you something else I can do!" The next thing Aelita sees is the rock flying towards her, but she's too gripped with shock to move. The rock connects with her chest and sends her flying backwards. Atilea walks over to where Aelita landed. Aelita forces her eyes open and, through the haze, sees Atilea standing over her. "Humph. I thought you would've been more of a challenge than that. Oh, wait. That's right. You have never really, truly fought back, have you? Pity. Oh, well!" Atilea raises both her hands above her head and smiles deviously. "Time to end this! Say good-bye, Princess. Or rather, Pauper!" At this, a massive boulder forms above Atilea's hands. Aelita grows wide-eyed and tries to get her body to move, but it's too late. Atilea simply steps back and lets the boulder drop.

Yumi stares in awe at this newcomer who is almost a mirror image of herself. There are differences, though. The uniform, for one, is still similar to her own, except the coloration is different and this look-a-like has no white facial makeup. The mid-sash is red, as opposed to her own golden one. The boots are cut lower to just below her knees and are solid black with no wraps on them. The tights are still red, like Yumi's, and the top is blue with white flowers.

Yumi opens her fans and grimaces. Her twin smiles in mild amusement and raises an eyebrow. "Ooh, feisty, aren't we?", she says. "Allow me to get the introductions over with. My name is Imuy. Yours is now Mud!" Imuy pulls out her own fans and opens them up. Yumi gasps at the site of her twin's fans. They are bigger than hers and have sharp tips at the ends of the stokes. "Impressive, aren't they? Betcha they would get Ulrich to change his mind about which one of us to got out with!", Imuy says, taunting her. Yumi frowns in anger and tosses her fans. Imuy smiles in mild amusement again and easily deflects the fans with one hand. Yumi gasps and steps backwards. "Well, that was futile. Allow me to show you the true power of the fan!", says Imuy and crosses her arms, putting her fans on the opposite side. The fans begin to glow with power and Imuy begins to concentrate more to pour more power into them. Yumi then finds herself defenseless as the two fans suddenly fly toward her, glowing and pulsating with power. They strike her head on and she starts to fly backwards but de-virtualizes before hitting the ground.

Ulrich feels digital sweat run down the side of his face as he stares intently at his twin. The twin is exactly like him, even in the voice, with the exception that the twin is clothed in a black with red trim ninja _gi_ and holds a short ninjitsu sword. His head band is solid black and undecorated. Ulrich has also discovered that his twin is holding back his true top speed. He tried to outrun the twin but found that the twin could easily match him. Then showed signs that there was more where that came from.

"What's the matter? Not tired already?", says the twin. Ulrich frowns and realizes his twin is right. He wasted too much energy trying to outrun him. "Pity. I was hoping for a good fight, but it seems you've ran out of gas." Ulrich growls softly and grips the handle of his katana tightly. "I still have plenty of fight left, H'cirlu!" H'cirlu smirks in defiance. "I doubt that. In fact, I'm so confident of it that I won't even need my sword to beat you!", he replies and sheaths his sword. "Come on! Attack me!" Ulrich yells and then charges at H'cirlu, his katana raised to strike. H'cirlu snorts in disdain and flicks his wrist quickly. Ulrich doesn't even see the shuriken leave his opponent's hand before he feels them hit his chest, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. Ulrich then realizes that he can't move. He hears H'cirlu chuckle. "Well that was stupid; charging head on like that. You should know better." Ulrich tries to lower his hands but can't. "Oh, by the way, I hit specific pressure points on your body to cause you to be paralyzed right where you stand. Now that I've had my fun, it's time to end this.", replies H'cirlu and walks up to the paralyzed Ulrich. He grabs Ulrich's hands and smiles devilishly. "Let's see, I believe you once used your opponent's weapon against them. Similar to this!", states H'cirlu and brings Ulrich's hands down sharply. At the same time, he twists the katana in Ulrich's hands causing the blade to point toward Ulrich's stomach. Then, in a swift jab, the full length of the blade slides effortlessly into Ulrich's abdomen. Ulrich starts to yell out in pain but it is silenced by him de-virtualizing.

Yumi forces the doors to the scanner open and sees Ulrich curled into a ball on the floor. "ULRICH!", she screams and drops down next to him. He moans as she tries to wake him. Ulrich finally opens his eyes and sees Yumi's worried face. He groans and lets her help him sit up. "Yumi….", he says weakly, leaning his head against her chest. She wraps her arms around him, tears flowing from her eyes. "Oh, Ulrich….", she whispers to him. "I saw what it did to you. I thought… Jeremie wasn't going to be able to bring you back home." He strains to lift his arms and to wrap them around Yumi's waist. He didn't feel like responding. Besides, he didn't have any words to describe what he felt. He was just happy to see Yumi.

That evening, Ulrich and Odd slowly walk towards their dorm room. Both of them are still feeling the affects of the attack of their twins and were barely able to finish the school day out. Fortunately, tomorrow was the start of the weekend and they could get some extra rest. As Ulrich fumbles to unlock the door, Odd leans up against the wall to keep from falling over. "Come on, Odd. Let's go to bed.", Ulrich states and helps his weak friend into the room and over to his respective bed. As Ulrich lays Odd down onto the bed, Odd grabs his collar and stares into his eyes intently. "Ulrich, I have never been attacked like that. Never, in all the time that we have been to Lyoko, have I -- we been so… outmatched!" Ulrich blinks at his friend's statement. Never had he heard Odd be so pessimistic or shaken by an ordeal. He pries Odd's hand off his collar and replies, "Just try and get some rest, ok?" Then he hears his cell phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Ulrich? Did you make it home alright? I was worried…"

"Yeah, we made it home ok, Yumi. Odd's still a bit shaken, though, but we're alright. How are you?"

"I'm… better. Still a little shaken myself, but I'll be fine. Listen, my mother and father are going out of town this weekend and Hiroki is staying at a friend's house the entire weekend too. I… was wondering if you and Odd would like to come over to my house and stay for a while. I've already talked to Jeremie and Aelita and they said they'd come."

"Sure, I'll come but…" Ulrich glances over at Odd and sees that he's sound asleep. "… I'll have to ask Odd in the morning. He's already asleep and I don't want to wake him. I'm pretty sure he'll join us, though. Well, as long as there is food in the house, he'll be there." He hears Yumi giggle on the other end.

"Ulrich?"

"Yes, Yumi?"

"I…. love you…."

"And I love you, too, Sweetheart. Now, try to get some sleep, ok?"

"I will if you will.", she replies playfully.

He chuckles softly. "Deal. G'night, Yumi. Love you."

"Love you to, Baby. Night."

Ulrich hangs up and sighs with fatigue as he sets the phone down on his nightstand. She removed his shoes and pulls back the covers on his bed and slides in between the sheets. He falls asleep the moment his head hits the pillow.


	4. Cogitation

_**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything… I'm just a fan…. Blah, blah, blah… Moving on…_

_This chapter is mainly the group's reaction (both sides) to what has just happened to them. Don't expect too much action. Has a good mix of romance, humor, philosophy, psychiatric theorizing, etc. _

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part III: Cogitation**

Yumi nearly trips over the furniture to answer the door bell. Aelita quickly pulls her bare feet out of Yumi's path before they are stepped on. It was six o'clock in the morning when Aelita showed up on Yumi's doorstep. Aelita has always been more of a morning person. Yumi was still sleeping, but when Aelita awoke her, she couldn't go back to sleep. So the pair stayed up and talked mainly about their respective boyfriends and did each other's toenails. Yumi chose her typical black nail polish and Aelita had chosen a cherry red color, something to match her new shirt she was wearing. The girls had been talking for a couple of hours when the door bell rang.

"UPS, miss. Package for Mr. Ishiyama.", Aelita hears coming from outside the door. She looks up to see Yumi sign for the package and smile politely as she takes the package. Aelita can tell that she is mildly disappointed that it wasn't Ulrich. "Thank you.", Yumi says politely and closes the door. She sets the package down on the kitchen counter and walks back into the living room where they were sitting. Aelita smiles at Yumi and says, "Don't worry, he'll be here. He knows what will happen to him if he doesn't!" Yumi sits down and giggles. "At least he better know what will happen." Aelita laughs and replies, "Yeah, pink nail polish!" Yumi looks up at Aelita and pictures Ulrich with pink nail polish on his toes and fingers. Then her imagination runs wild and sees him with blush and eye-liner. The thought makes her bust up laughing. "He would kill us both if we made him wear that!", Yumi says wiping a tear away that threatens to escape her eye. Aelita nods and then hears her cell phone go off. She controls her laughter and picks it up.

"Hello?"

"Morning, Sweetie! Where are you at? I went by your room, but you were gone."

Aelita smiles and sticks her foot out and Yumi begins to paint the unfinished toenails. "I'm at Yumi's already. Sorry, I didn't tell you. I didn't want to wake you."

"It's ok. Have you eaten yet?"

Aelita's stomach grumbles at Jeremie's statement. She didn't realize that she was so hungry. "No, neither of us has had anything."

Jeremie smiles and replies, "Good. Don't have anything. I'm bringing your favorite."

Aelita squeals with excitement and nearly jerks her foot away from Yumi. "Oh, you are! Thank you, Jeremie! That's so sweet of you!" Yumi glances up at Aelita and says, "Hey, tell him if he sees Ulrich, drop a hint that I haven't eaten yet!" "Ooh, devious! Yumi says that if you see Ulrich, tell him to get her a single donut!", Aelita says jokingly and Yumi looks up at her with a look of disbelief. "That's not what I said!" Aelita laughs and Jeremie smiles as he waits for the laughter to die down. Then he hears an "OW!" from Aelita and more giggling. "Don't pinch me, Yumi! That hurts!", Aelita says in mock seriousness. Jeremie sighs then continues, "Well, if I see Ulrich I'll pass that on. I did see Odd earlier, however. Much earlier. I don't think I have ever seen him up that early. Except when that new restaurant opened and they had an All-You-Can Eat Breakfast Buffet that weekend. I'll be there in a few minutes. Bye!" "Bye, Jeremie!", Aelita responds and hangs up. She sets her phone down and watches Yumi finish up her last toe.

Jim looks down at Odd and blinks in dismay at the blonde and purple haired kid's request. He wipes his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining things. "Come on, Jimbo! Do it for an old friend!", Odd says with a slight smile on his face. "Jimbo…?", Jim whispers in confusion. "Old friend? We're not exactly old friends, Mr. Della Robbia…" Odd hardens his look and becomes more serious. "Look, Jim, I'm serious. This is important to me." Jim pauses to think about Odd's request. He sighs and finally replies nodding, "Oh, alright. But I still don't understand why this couldn't have waited another couple of hours. I was having a great dream…." He stops himself and notices that Odd is uninterested and has a very serious look on his face. "Just a minute, Odd. Let me get my keys…."

Yumi's door bell rings again and Yumi springs up once more. She nearly falls on her face in her rush to get to the door. She opens the door as she and Aelita begin laughing. Jeremie stares in discomfort as he watches Yumi nearly fall to the ground from laughter. He peeks in and sees Aelita laying on her side laughing at Yumi, unable to speak. "Um, have you two been doing that since I called?", he asks unsure if he really wants to go in. Yumi inhales deeply to calm herself and replies, "Well, not constantly. Come in, Jeremie." He steps in and Aelita, who has now finally stopped laughing, gets up and jogs over to him. She wraps her arms around his neck and plants a kiss on his lips. "Hi, Baby!", she says happily. "Where's my food?" Jeremie raises his eyebrows at her. "You have been hanging around Odd too long. His massive appetite has rubbed off on you!" She giggles and rests her head on his chest. "Sorry, I'm just so hungry! I didn't eat last night, so you can imagine.", she says. Jeremie lifts the bag he is carrying and opens it. Aelita grows wide-eyed as the aroma fills her nostrils. She snatches the bag from his hand and gives him a quick kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Jeremie!", she says and takes her food into the kitchen. Yumi shakes her head and Aelita looks at her innocently. "What?" Yumi pulls out a card table and replies, "Nothing. Have a seat anywhere in the living room, Jeremie." Jeremie nods and turns to enter the living room, pausing only to stare at the pile of nail polish in the floor. "I see you two have been busy this morning.", he says sitting down in a chair. "Blame your girlfriend. She got me up at six this morning.", Yumi replies, bringing the card table into the living room. Aelita follows her, trying not to drop any of her breakfast on the floor. "Sorry, I couldn't go back to sleep. I'm a morning person. Hey, what's this?", Aelita asks pulling out something wrapped in biscuit paper. "That's my breakfast….you stole it.", he replies in a playful hurt manner. Aelita giggles and walks over to him and hands him the paper. "I'm sorry I took your food. Forgive me?", she says playfully. He adjusts his glass and replies, "Maybe…." Aelita gives him a hurt look until she sees him smile then laughs softly and slides down to the floor next to him.

Meanwhile, in Lyoko, H'cirlu balances his short sword on his index finger. Dod raises an eyebrow and sighs in boredom. Atilea enters the secluded room in Sector 5's core and pauses to watch Dod shoot the sword off of H'cirlu's finger. Dod begins laughing and H'cirlu turns to him angrily. "Jerk!", he shouts and throws a shuriken at Dod's head. Dod ducks and smiles at H'cirlu. "Missed me!", he taunts and H'cirlu lunges toward him but finds himself suspended in air. He turns to see Imuy frowning at him and using her mental power to hold him in the air. "Hey, put me down, Imuy!" She shrugs and he falls hard to the ground. He gets up and looks at her angrily. "I meant softly! Put me down softly!" Imuy feigns ignorance and replies, "Oh? Well, then, why didn't you say so?" Atilea rolls her eyes at the others. "I swear, you three are like children. Grow up." Dod shoots her a glance. "Oh, and you aren't, Miss Holier-than-Thou? What about a little while ago when you threw a fit because you were sent to your pod before the rest of us?", he retorts. Atilea forms a rock in her left hand and raises it, ready to throw it at his head.

_ENOUGH!_

The four freeze as the voice suddenly booms in their minds. They all knew the voice well and didn't have to guess who it was. Atilea drops the rock and gives Dod one last warning glance. He smirks at her and laughs to himself.

"We're sorry, Master X.A.N.A." says Imuy.

I hope so. I do not have the time or patience to put up with your childishness. Stop fighting amongst yourselves. This is the only warning you get, so heed it.

"Yes, Master X.A.N.A., we will" replies H'cirlu respectfully bowing his head.

"Suck up!" whispers Dod from the corner of his mouth.

Be silent, Dod! I do not want to hear your voice again. Now, I do want to say that I am impressed with the results of your first encounter with the human filth. You handled the situation nicely and efficiently. However, I will stress the importance of not wasting your energy, especially at this stage.

"Well, I thought we did a good job of that even if we only have 50 of the power we are supposed to have" quips Dod. "Besides, those weak humans stood no chance against us!"

You lost more energy than your brother and sisters put together. Your little stunt of implanting the vision into the mind of the human called Odd wasted a lot of your energy needlessly. And you ran the risk of alerting them to your presence before the appointed time with it.

"Wait, are you saying I wasted more energy projecting a mental image than H'cirlu did when he decided to run circles around his weaker self?"

YES. Do not do it again until you are at 100. Do not make me tell you again.

Dod swallows nervously and nods obediently.

You needlessly cause me to waste MY precious energy to keep YOU up to speed. Now, it is time to implement the second phase. Return to your pods and await my orders.

The four bow on one knee and bow their heads respectfully and reply in unison "Yes, Master X.A.N.A." They then rise and exit the room in silence.

At Yumi's house, Ulrich watches his girlfriend gobble her breakfast down in an almost Odd-like fashion. He's never seen her so hungry before and wonders where this appetite came from. "Wow…" he states in awe as the last bite is devoured. Jeremie glances at his watch and blinks in amazement. "Seven minutes and fifteen seconds…" he reports, hardly believing it. Yumi looks at the boys in curiosity as she wipes her mouth with a napkin. Aelita holds back a giggle and squeezes Jeremie's arm gently.

"What? Haven't you seen me eat before?" Yumi asks wadding up the napkin and tossing it into the bag that once held her breakfast.

"Yeah, but not that fast…" Ulrich starts.

" Well, it's your fault. You didn't bring me anything to eat before now!"

Ulrich looks at her in confusion. "Wha--? Wait a minute…." Yumi smiles at him and giggles. "Oh, Ulrich. Still can't take a joke, can you?" she says playfully. He puts on a hurt look and she slides closer to him and lays her head on him shoulder. "I can take a joke…usually" he defensively says. "Sure you can, Dear" Yumi replies and pats his arm sympathetically. He raises an eyebrow, not knowing whether he should take her comment as a compliment or an insult, but decides to let it slide. "By the way, thank you again for breakfast, Babe. It was delicious" Yumi lifts her head and kisses his cheek. Ulrich turns and looks into her dark eyes. He smiles and the two kiss again. As they break, Ulrich winks at her.

Jeremie looks at his watch again and frowns softly. Aelita notices this and looks at him quizzically. "What's wrong, Jeremie?" she inquires. Jeremie glances over at her. "Odd should have been here by now. Are you sure he will be here?" Jeremie asks Ulrich. Ulrich nods and answers "Yeah, he said he would when I called him after I got up. He said he had a couple of things to do before he came over." "Did he say what he had to do?" Yumi asks. Ulrich shakes his head no and begins to mull in his head all the things that Odd could possibly be doing. "This is the second day that he has gotten up before us. Something is definitely up" Ulrich notes. "Do you think he is trying to patch things up with Samantha?" surmises Aelita. "Possibly. But I don't think that is the case, based on what happened to you all on Lyoko yesterday. He seemed to take that quite… personally" returns Jeremie rubbing his chin in thought.

Meanwhile, at the Kadic school gym, Odd plops down into a chair backwards and forces himself to regain his breath. Jim gets up and brings his chair with him and sits down in front of Odd. Odd stretches out a hand toward Jim and rests him head on his other arm that is propped upon the back of his chair. Odd straightens his fingers of his outstretched arm and Jim produces a pair of scissors. Then Jim begins to cut off the hand wrap. "You did good for your first boxing lesson…" Jim says. Odd raises his head and gives Jim a tired smile but says nothing. Odd then uses his free hand to pick up his towel and wipe the sweat off of his face. "If I didn't know better, I'd claim that you've already had some previous training" compliments Jim.

Samantha had been watching, unknown to Odd or Jim, for a while and was amazed at Odd's skill. She had came looking for Jim to ask him if he could let her into the library so she could do some extra research on her biology project. But when she saw Jim giving Odd a boxing lesson, she all but forgot about the library. Samantha watched Odd jab and punch at the hanging bag with ease. He almost seemed like a natural and wondered why he hadn't told her of this skill before. Perhaps at the time he did not know, she surmises. Watching him train, she noticed, made him a bit cuter to her than before. She didn't know why she felt this way, but decided to just let it be and not to question it. Sam walks softly and cautiously towards them as Odd switches hands. "You have a mean left jab for someone who is a right-handed, beginner boxer" informs Jim to Odd and indicates the minor blood stains showing through on the knuckles of his wrap. Odd hears Samantha walking up and turns to look at her in surprise.

"Sam! What are you doing here?" he inquires with a smile on his face.

"I was actually coming to see if Jim'll let me into the library but I see, or saw rather, that he was busy. I didn't know you boxed, Odd " she answers him.

"Well, this was my first lesson…" he states humbly.

Jim finishes cutting off the wrap and stands, peeling off the latex gloves. "Yeah, it was, but it didn't seem like it. Now, keep those knuckles clean. Don't want them to get infected " states Jim directing his statement toward Odd. "Jim, they're just skinned. Nothing serious. I'll be fine. Look, thanks for the lesson. I appreciate it" replies Odd and stands. "And you, uh, Samantha, right? Need into the library. Ok, let me go get my keys" Jim says and turns to leave.

Odd and Sam wait until Jim is out of earshot before saying anything else to each other. Odd looks at her, nervously. She smiles, equally nervous, and searches for an ice-breaker. "Soooooo, going to the library? I guess for a little extra studying?" Odd asks finally breaking the awkward silence. She nods quickly and replies "Yes, I have to do a little bit more research for my biology project." Odd nods and another awkward silence occurs, but is shorter than the last one.

"Odd, look, I just want to tell you I was sorry in person for the way I behaved when we…. broke up. It was totally uncalled for."

He smiles and tosses his towel over his shoulder. "Sam, I told you it's ok. I hate to admit it, but I really needed to be talked to like that. You did me a favor. I should be thanking you…"

She runs a finger through her dark brown hair, putting a strand of it behind her ear. Then, she finds herself looking deep into his tired but still bright eyes. "No, Odd, I…" He gently touches her lips with his index finger and shushes her. He smiles warmly at her and drops his hand to his side. He starts to say something but stops himself and then the two realizes the true awkwardness of the situation. Odd mouths "Sorry," to her in an apologetic manner and she nods in acceptance. Odd sighs heavily in relief and glances at the clock on the wall.

"Look, Sam, I promised Ulrich I'd meet him at Yumi's house in a little bit. Um, what are you doing later? Maybe…. We could get together and just talk?" Odd asks her with a bit of nervousness in his voice. Samantha thinks for a moment and then answers "Sure. How about if I give you a call, say, after four p.m.?" Odd smiles big and nods. "Sounds good!"

"On one condition," She states firmly.

"What is it?"

"That you leave that silly dog of yours behind!"

Odd gives her a hurt look but agrees. He glances behind her and sees Jim returning. She turns and sees Jim also, who is fighting with his key chain, trying to find the right key. Sam turns back to Odd and gives him a smile then turns to meet Jim half way. "Bye, Odd!" Odd watches her leave and wonders to himself if what he just experienced was real. "Bye, Sam" he calls after her. He sighs and turns to head toward the locker room.

Meanwhile, at Yumi's house, Ulrich blinks in mild dismay upon hearing what Yumi had planned to do to him if he didn't show up today. "Pink… nail…polish? You're not serious" Yumi smiles at him and replies "Actually it wasn't all my idea. You can blame Aelita! She started it!" Ulrich looks over at Aelita in mild shock and disbelief and Aelita instantly goes on the defensive. "Not true! She brought up the topic first! From there, my imagination just kicked in!"

Then, the door bell rings and Yumi gets up to answer it. Ulrich secretly thanks whoever rang the bell for ending this topic of discussion. Yumi opens the door and gets a look of relief when she sees Odd standing there. "Hiya, Yumi!" he exclaims with a smile plastered to his face. "It's about time. We've been waiting for you to get here for nearly an hour and a half!" Yumi returns. Odd's smile turns innocent and he fidgets slightly. "I had some things to do before I came. Ulrich was supposed to have told you guys," Odd replies. "I did tell them! I just didn't think it would take this long!" pipes up Ulrich defensively. Yumi opens the door wider to let Odd in and he steps through. "Well, uh, it took a little longer than I thought. Sorry."

Jeremie gently taps Aelita's shoulder and she looks up at him. "Excuse me, Aelita. I need to get up, please," he whispers to her. She nods obligingly and leans up. As Jeremie stands he turns to Yumi and says "I'll be right back. Just going to go get my laptop." Yumi nods and follows Odd into the living room. "Nice house, Yumi!" Odd says glancing around the room. "Thanks. My mom and dad have worked hard for this place," she replies. Odd sits down on the floor between Aelita and Ulrich and Yumi sits down on the other side of her boyfriend. Odd sniffs and gets a quizzical look on his face. "Do I smell….food?" Yumi, Aelita, and Ulrich glance quickly at each other. No one had thought of bringing him any breakfast. "Um, yeah. We all had breakfast…" Ulrich replies meekly. "I didn't think to get you anything. I assumed that you would eat on your own." Odd smiles at his friend and replies "I did, don't worry." Yumi lets out a sigh of relief and leans her head against Ulrich's shoulder.

Jeremie walks back in the house and sits back down semi-behind Aelita and she leans back against him. He gently sits his laptop down and opens the lip. "Ok, time to get down to business. I have a few answers to the questions we all have regarding the strange turn of events that has occurred the past two days," he starts, glancing around the room. "I want each of you to take a look at this," he continues and turns the laptop around so all can see. "These are picture representations of digital DNA. These two models, shown here, one of them is Aelita's digital DNA and the other is… from her twin. Can you tell me which one is which?" Aelita glances at the models quickly and blinks in confusion. Yumi squints at the models but shakes her head. Ulrich raises an eyebrow in baffled indecision but can't discern whish is which either. Odd frowns and shakes his head. "They're… They're the same!" exclaims Yumi. "How? How is that possible? How did X.A.N.A get a perfect copy of our digital DNA?" Jeremie raises a finger and replies "Well, I'm not entirely sure, but the best explanation would be this," He taps a couple of keys and the view changes to show a graphical re-creation of the Scyphozoa. Aelita gasps as she realizes where Jeremie is going. She turns her head and buries her face in his chest.

"No…" he hears her whisper and wraps his free arm around her to comfort her.

"Wait, are you saying that the Scyphozoa stole our DNA?" inquires Odd, obviously struggling to get the information to make sense to him.

"Well, it didn't actually steal it. It seems to have only made a copy of it. You see, when it rendered you unconscious, it moved to each of you. I believe that it was at this point, it copied each of your digital DNA.

And I believe you can figure out what it was used for," Jeremie continues.

"So, those 'copies' of us aren't just polymorphic clones like the one that replaced Odd awhile back?" inquires Ulrich.

"Correct. These are actual 'clones', if you will. I have to admit, if it weren't for them de-virtualizing each of you, I may not have been able to get the right one back. I might have mistaken the clone for the real one," Jeremie says. The room remains silent for what seems like forever. "That's a very scary thought. Having my evil twin run around in the real world, in my place, while I'm trapped on Lyoko…" Yumi muses. "Who knows what kind of damage it could do."

"Fortunately, after extensive study of the twin DNA and comparing it to the 'original' DNA, I have discovered a few markers in the copied DNA that has helped me reprogram the scanner to determine which of you is which," Jeremie says with a bit of confidence.

"Really? They looked exactly the same to me," states Odd, still with a confused look on his face.

"Think of it this way, Odd. Say you have a sheet of paper with your name written on it in your handwriting…."

"Good luck reading it!" interjects Ulrich smiling. "Hey! There's nothing wrong with my handwriting!" exclaims Odd.

"Back on task, please." Jeremie says firmly. "As I was saying, you take that page, with your name on it, written in your handwriting, to a copy machine. You make a copy of it and hold the two side by side. Now despite the fact that they look identical, there is still a master and a copy. You know this not because you were the one who made the copy, but because you can tell by just looking at them. Even on a copier that is brand new, there are subtle differences between the two, if you look hard enough. Does that make more sense now?"

Odd nods slowly and replies "I think so. I guess the next question is…. Why?" Jeremie sighs and shakes his head. "That I don't know." "Well, I do! They're here to cause us trouble!" responds Odd gruffly. "True, that is their baseline function, but remember that X.A.N.A rarely does something without a specific thing in mind to do," Jeremie states. "At this moment, I don't know what that specific thing is."

The room remains quiet for a while. Yumi gently squeezes Ulrich's arm for comfort and begins to roll over in her mind what her twin had said to her about Ulrich. Odd replays what happened to him over and over in his mind, feeling anger rising up inside him. Aelita, still with her face in Jeremie's chest, begins to cry silently; her mind filled with the feelings of helplessness that she experienced then her twin dropped the boulder on her. Jeremie feels her tears through his shirt and gently rubs her arm with his hand. Ulrich looks at the wooden floor and grimaces. Yumi had told him what her twin had said to her. He reassured her that his heart belonged to her and her alone. But what bothered him was that his twin was as ruthless as he was at times; and that scared him. Then something began bothering Ulrich. Something that no one had yet mentioned.

"Um, if they are copies of us, what would happen if, say, one of them were de-virtualized?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie grows wide-eyed and looks at him. He hadn't thought about that. "I'm not sure…" Another thought hits Ulrich. "Also, what would happen to them if the Return to the Past were activated?" inquires Ulrich. Yumi raises her head to look at Ulrich, then asks solemnly, "And more importantly, what would they be like if X.A.N.A decided to send them here?" Jeremie shakes his head, trying to straighten out his thoughts to the questions.

"X.A.N.A. doesn't need to send them here. They could do it themselves," says Aelita raising her head from Jeremie's chest and wiping the tears from her eyes. Odd perks up and looks over at her. "What? How?" he asks, astonished at her statement. "They have a copy of me and I have the ability to send people back to the real world, but it takes almost all of my energy to manipulate the controls of the quantum computer from Lyoko to do so," she replies. "And from what I saw of my twin, she would no trouble activating the materialization program from Lyoko. She can do things I can only dream of. Like forming rocks and bridges and things so effortlessly without having to sacrifice half of my energy to so." Jeremie wraps both arms around her and Aelita tries to calm herself down. "All I have to say is that my twin had better not flirt with Ulrich or I'll tear her head off!" Yumi states gruffly. Ulrich raises his eyebrows and looks at her from the corner of his eyes. "If you're that protective of me, then why haven't you done that to Sissi yet?" Yumi looks at his shocked but then a look of wonder forms on her face. She thinks for a moment then answers, "Because it would be a waste of my time and energy. I can handle Sissi without killing her. Heck, even Jeremie can handle her!" Jeremie looks at Yumi speechless. Aelita finally smiles and shakes her head. Ulrich blinks and gives Yumi a strained smile. "Well, of course he can handle her. She's not after him!" he retorts. "He has no trouble putting her off!" Aelita tilts her head backwards and looks up at Jeremie upside down. "At least YOU had better have no trouble…" she warns him playfully. Jeremie's reply dies in his throat and he's left with his mouth open, trying to find the right words to say. Odd smiles proudly and closes his eyes. "Ah, to be single and not have to worry about things like that! Heavenly!" he says proudly and exaggeratedly sighs in relief, as if to rub it in the faces of the two couples in the room. Ulrich gives him a stern look and slugs him in the shoulder. "Your time is coming, _buddy_." Ulrich states as Odd giggles defiantly. "Careful, Ulrich! Yumi may misunderstand what you're trying to say!" he quips. Yumi gives Odd a confident stare.

"No, I won't, because I know Ulrich. You, on the other hand…" She pauses and glances deviously over at Aelita. "…may end up with pink nail polish and blue eye-liner if you don't stop being so cocky!"

Aelita bursts out laughing as Odd's facial expression changes from happy to horrified. "Dang, Yumi. You're cruel…" Ulrich says looking at his girlfriend. "Nah. Cruel would be making him go out in public like that for a week," she replies without missing a beat. Odd begins to slide backwards across the floor and watches Yumi like a hawk, ready to jump up and run out the door if she tries to make good on her word.

On Lyoko, Dod glances back at his pod and snorts disdainfully. _I shouldn't have to spend any time in those things. I'm not weak like Atilea! Oh, sure, she can make huge rocks and toss them at people, but it's not like she can REALLY fight, _he thinks to himself.

_You are only at 75, Dod. Do you think that is enough to truly accomplish what I have for you to do? If so, then this is as far as you go._ _The others will go on and obtain their full power and you… well, to be blunt, will be the weak one, _comes a familiar voice to him.

Dod snorts and replies, "If I'm not up to full power, then why don't you just finish the job? Empower me with the last 25 and get it over with!"

I could, but your body would not be able to handle that much at one time, replies X.A.N.A. You would die. Is that what you want? 

Dod scowls and realizes that his Master is right. "No…" he replies frowning, hating to admit that he was rash.

I have some training for you that is designed to hone a new ability I have given you. X.A.N.A. implants some instructions into his mind. Now, go.

Dod nods and takes off into the desert sector. X.A.N.A. ponders if he had made a miscalculation in Dod's growth that caused this reckless and somewhat insubordinate behavior.

I will have to watch him carefully, but I cannot do it myself. Perhaps one of the others is still loyal enough to entrust with that task for me…

And with that, X.A.N.A turns his attention to the remaining three as they emerge from their own pods.


	5. In the Real World

**_Disclaimer:_** _Don't own nuthin'… 'nuff said._

_Ok, this chapter's got a lot of romance and mushy stuff going on between everyone's favorite couples for the first SEVERAL paragraphs. If you're one of those people who could really care less about Yumi's tickle-spot or Aelita's biting problem, feel free to skip down, oh, say a good quarter of the chapter. (yeah, yeah, got carried away a bit) It gets more action-y and intense later on… promise._

_For those of you who are hopeless romantics, I suggest you pop in Firehouse's Love of a Lifetime or Steelheart's I'll Never Let You Go and crank it up as you read those paragraphs….. (yes, I am an eighties rock fan and I wrote them while listening to those songs…)_

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror **

**Part IV: In the Real World**

Several hours have passed since the meeting that morning. Odd was the first to leave after a phone call he received. He wouldn't tell who it was, but everyone else pretty much knew who it was, based on his happy reaction. He had left red-faced and saying something to the effect that the caller wouldn't try to paint his nails pink. Jeremie and Aelita left shortly thereafter, saying that the two of them were going to work on figuring out a way to get some kind of plan together to defeat the evil twins. Yumi and Ulrich teased Jeremie about a "different" kind of work he and Aelita might "accidentally" get into that left him beet-red and embarrassed. Aelita giggled and gave Jeremie a sly and mischievous smile that made him even more embarrassed.

It is now eight o'clock at night and Yumi and Ulrich lay in the living room floor together watching a movie. Yumi yawns and stretches. Ulrich sees her arm raise up in front of him and takes the opportunity to tickle her exposed ribs. She squeals and jerks, trying to cover her ribs with her arm. "That's not nice!" Yumi exclaims playfully and tries to elbow Ulrich but he catches her arm by sliding his arm in the crook of her elbow. She turns to look at him as best as she can. He smiles and looks at her mischievously. "Don't you dare!" Yumi says but finds that her warning is fruitless as Ulrich sits up a bit, uses his other arm to hold Yumi's arm, and proceeds to tickle her some more. She struggles to free herself amidst his tickling and her laughter from the tickling. Finally he stops and she lays flat on her back and tries to slow her breathing. "It's not fair!" she says with a playful pout on her face. "What's not fair?" Ulrich asks drawing closer to her face. "You've found one of my tickle-spots and I've not been able to find any of yours!" she replies poking his ribs playfully. "It's almost like you don't have any at all!" Ulrich gives her a puckish smile. "Oh, I have tickle-spots. I'm just not gonna tell you where they're at!" He leans much closer, nearly touching her lips with his. "You're just gonna have to find them yourself…" Ulrich finishes his sentence by kissing her lips. She moans in delight and wraps her arms around his neck. Suddenly, she feels him tickle her ribs again and she breaks away from the kiss laughing. "Ulrich…!" She manages to shove him away and straightens her shirt and growls at him in mock anger. He sits back laughing. "I hope you're enjoying this, but remember, when I find a tickle-spot on you…watch out!" Yumi says. "I'm sorry I tickled you, Yumi," he replies smiling. "No, you're not. You enjoyed it!" she counters. Ulrich pauses for a second and tilts his head. "Ok, you're right, I'm not sorry, but it was fun! And you can't say that it wasn't!" Yumi presses her lips together, not wanting to admit that he was right about that. A loud noise on the TV distracts her and Ulrich bites his lip to help prevent himself from falling into the temptation to tickle her. He sighs heavily and rolls onto his back. Yumi glances over at him and cocks her head to one side.

"I take it that we're through watching the movie?" Yumi asks leaning towards him. "Yeah. I've seen it before so I know how it ends," he answers. Yumi picks up the remote and turns the TV off. "Hey, I'll be right back," she says standing. "OK, I'll stay right here," Ulrich replies and sticks his hands underneath his head. Yumi jogs off and heads upstairs. A moment later, she returns with a huge pillow that has red flowers on a white background. He widens his eyes as she pauses to dim the lights in the room. She drops the pillow next to him and motions for him to raise his head. Ulrich obliges and Yumi slides half of the massive pillow under his head then lays her own head next to his on the remaining half. "Now, isn't this more comfortable than the floor?" she asks, slightly giggling. Ulrich smiles and nods. He feels her shift next to him and then feels her arm slide across his chest. She kisses him on the cheek and he wraps his arms around her. "I guess you could say that we're having 'a moment'," Ulrich says chuckling. Yumi giggles and shifts her head so that it rests on his chest. "Yeah, I guess so. Hey, I can hear your heart. It's beating really fast!" Ulrich smiles and replies "Gee, I wonder why…" Yumi giggles again and gently rubs his chest.

Ten minutes pass and the couple lay nearly motionless on the floor. The only thing to disturb their stillness is the frequent kisses between the two. Ulrich's mind suddenly begins to dwell on his twin.

"Yumi?"

"Yes, Sweetie?"

"Do you think our twins feel the same way about each other like we do?"

Yumi raises her head and gives Ulrich a perplexed look. "Why?"

"Well, Jeremie said they were like us. Do you think it's possible?"

She thinks for a moment before replying. "No. Based on what my twin said, she's most likely to go after you. Besides, Jeremie said they are only like us in the DNA department and I'm pretty sure X.A.N.A. has strained out emotions like that from them." She lays her head back down on his chest. "Why do you ask?"

Ulrich shrugs. "I dunno. I guess it's one of those 'night-time questions' that just pops into the mind." He raises his arm and looks at his watch. "Man, I wish I didn't have to go back to my dorm…" he whispers. Yumi gets a naughty smile on her face and whispers back to him, "Nobody says you have to go…." Ulrich smiles at the thought but shakes his head. "Tempting, but no. It'd look bad. Especially since your mom and dad has finally trusted you enough to leave you home alone for a whole weekend. I don't want to break your mom's trust either." Yumi sighs and realizes he's right and sticks out her bottom lip. "What if I held you hostage?" she playfully asks. Ulrich gives her a slightly bewildered look and replies, "Hostage? Yeah. That'll go over well." She laughs softly and the two sit up. "Well, can't blame me for trying. And you're right. If we did stay here alone together and my parents found out, both of us would dead!" Ulrich nods and stands. He reaches down and pulls Yumi up with both hands. The two wrap each other in their arms and just listen to each other's breathing. Finally, the pair walk to the door and Yumi starts to open it but stops herself. Instead, she pulls Ulrich in close and plants a kiss on his lips. After a minute passes, the two part and Ulrich gently runs his hand down Yumi's cheek. "Bye, Yumi. See you tomorrow." She touches his hand that is on her cheek. "Bye, Ulrich. Be careful going back to your dorm." After another kiss, Ulrich exits her house and Yumi watches him until he is nearly out of sight. She sighs and closes the door.

Meanwhile, Jeremie pecks away on his computer, trying to finish the Second Seal. The pauses and looks at the screen puzzled. "That doesn't look right…." he mumbles to himself. Aelita stands behind him watching him work. "Jeremie…" she starts but realizes that he's not paying attention to her. "Ah, there's the problem!" he exclaims and makes the adjustment in the code.

"Now, just a little bit more modificammph!" Jeremie is interrupted by Aelita spinning his chair around and planting a huge kiss on his lips, nearly knocking off his glasses. She withdraws after a minute, leaving a stunned Jeremie sitting in the chair with a dumb-founded look on his face. She giggles at him as he tries to speak, but all that comes out is goofy sounds. He finally regains his composure and looks up at her, not sure what to say.

"I think you have worked long enough tonight."

Jeremie straightens his glasses and clears his throat. "I guess, but you could have just said something."

"True, but doing that way made sure I had your _full_ attention!"

Jeremie grits his teeth in guilt and blushes.

"And, sometimes," Aelita continues. "I think I'm competing with that computer."

Jeremie gets a look of astonished realization on his face and says, "What! Really? I had no idea! I-- I'm so sorry, Aelita! I didn't mean"

She bends down and puts her hands on his legs, then leans in close to him. "I know. Old habit. That computer was once the only way the two of us could communicate. I'm not mad, Jeremie. I just want to spend some time together, other than working on the Seals." She gives him a kiss and sees that he's feeling guilty. "Hey, relax Jeremie. I know you're trying. I probably was wrong to interrupt you like that. I'm sorry." Jeremie shakes his head takes one of her hands. "No, no! I'm the one who should be sorry. I get so caught up in my work, I tend to forget about other people and things." Aelita smiles and replies, "Let's just forget it, ok? Now, I want to spend a little time with a certain computer genius with glasses before I have to go back to my dorm." Jeremie smiles and gives her an apologetic look. "Ok, just let me save this and turn off the monitor." Aelita smiles cheerfully and nods. Jeremie turns, taps a few keys, and then turns off the monitor. He turns and Aelita gently slides into his lap, but she finds that the arm rests on Jeremie's computer chair gets in the way of her legs. Jeremie notices her discomfort and motions for her to stand. After she stands, Jeremie gets up and pushes the chair under the desk then turns to his closet. "I may have something that is more comfortable," he says opening the closet and pulls out a large beanbag. Aelita looks at it curiously. "Where did you get that?" Jeremie drops it on the floor next to his bed. "Odd gave it to me a while back. He said it was losing the stuffing out of it and had already bought a new one. It was a simple fix, but I didn't really have a use for it. Until now!" Aelita nods and replies. "That was nice of him." Then she drops down onto the beanbag and stretches across the entire thing. Aelita looks up at him, smiling innocently. "It is comfy, Jeremie!" she states rolling onto her back. "I wouldn't know. Someone has taken up all the room on it so I can't sit down with her!" he says back to her. Aelita sticks her tongue out at him gives him a devilish grin. He kneels down next to her and gives her a playfully stern look. "Stick your tongue out like that again and see what happens!" She giggles mischievously and sticks her tongue out at him again. He quickly tries to grab it, but misses. "Eww! Gross! Don't do that!" she giggles, turning her head away. "I warned you, Aelita! But you didn't listen!" he replies. Aelita looks back up at him and crinkles her nose in playful defiance. He takes his finger, attempts to brush her nose playfully, and she playfully tries to bite it, but accidentally bites his finger for real. Jeremie's eyes widen and jerks his finger back and gets a shocked look on his face. "OWW!", he yelps and sits back on his legs, cradling is finger. Aelita, equally shocked, sits up and gasps. Jeremie looks at his finger and sees a pair of teeth marks in it. "Oh, Jeremie! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to! I didn't realize that it was that close!" Aelita exclaims remorsefully and wraps her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Jeremie regains he composure and shakes his hand that got bit. He looks at Aelita who, having been seen peeking up at him, reburies her head in his shoulder.

"You bit me! I don't believe it! You _bit_ me!"

"I said I was sorry!" comes the muffled reply from the pink-haired girl who still has her face hidden.

Jeremie smiles softly and shifts his body to wrap his arms around her. She allows him to pull her close and feels his hand tenderly rubbing her back. "I know you were just playing around; that it was just an accident., Aelita. I know you didn't mean to. Besides it's not all your fault. I shouldn't have tried to poke your nose." He hears her fail to suppress a giggle and gently squeezes her. Aelita peeks up at him and sees a tender smile on his face. "That'll teach you to do that again!" she rebukes playfully. He chuckle and shakes is head. "Yeah, I guess so. Though I may have you tested for rabies!" he jokes. Aelita looks at him in disbelief and thumps him in the chest with her hand. He chuckles and straightens his glasses. "Dang glasses. Sometimes they are a real pain," Jeremie says frowning. Aelita tilts her head slightly and asks, "Have you ever thought of getting contact lenses?" Jeremie sighs and pulls his glasses off to adjust the nose piece. "Yeah, once. But they would be really expensive in my prescription." Aelita leans back from him and watches him fight with the nose pieces. As he starts to put them back on, Aelita stops him. "Wait, I want to see something…" Jeremie blinks at her curiously and Aelita gently takes his glasses from his hands. "I just wanted to see what you'd look like without your glasses," she states and surveys his face. "Um, well, that's great, but you _do_ realize that the entire room is a blur to me now…right?"

Aelita smiles passionately and replies, "Then you won't see this coming…" She leans into him and lands a kiss on his lips. He nearly falters due to his blurred vision, but quickly regains control and joins in the kiss perfectly. The two lean back onto the beanbag and become lost in the overwhelming passion, only to be jolted back to reality a couple of minutes later by a loud commotion outside in the hallway. The two separate instantly and look towards the door. Aelita realizes she still has Jeremie's glasses and after a quick inspection to make sure they are alright, she hands them back to him. He takes them and promptly puts them on. "What was that?" Aelita whispers. Jeremie shrugs and stands. He walks quietly over to the door and cracks it open then peers out the crack. Jeremie smiles to himself as he sees that it is Odd coming back from… wherever he's been, and has been tackled by an excited Kiwi. Jeremie quietly closes the door and turns to Aelita, smiling. Her face asks him what was going on and he tiptoes back over to her. "Well?" she asks him softly. "It was Odd. Kiwi just took his legs out from underneath him and he fell." Aelita sighs in relief and leans her head against him. "Oh, good! I thought it might have been Jim checking the rooms. I shudder to think what he would do if he caught us!" Aelita says. Jeremie chuckles and replies, "He'd probably faint." "Yeah, then have us suspended after he woke up," chimes in Aelita looking up at him. "Then your perfect school record would be tarnished forever." Jeremie blinks in confusion. "Perfect record? What perfect record? I haven't had a perfect record since Odd and I found the factory!" She giggles and replies, "I'm messing with you, silly! And are you saying that you regret discovering the factory and it's secret? Are you also saying that it hasn't been worth it?" Jeremie shakes his head quickly and answers, "No, no! Considering what I've gained from the discovery, like three great friends that I can trust, and a certain pink haired girl who stole my heart, I'd do it again. No question." Aelita smiles and presses her body closer to his. "You know, out of the six billion people on planet Earth, I'm glad it was you who answered my SOS," Aelita says softly. Jeremie hugs her gently and replies, "Me too."

The two hold each other for fifteen more minutes when they hear someone out in the hall fighting with their keys. Jeremie and Aelita wait and listen to see who it is. "I bet you lunch tomorrow that it is Ulrich and Kiwi is going to bark when the door opens," Jeremie states grinning. Aelita pauses for a second in thought and then gets a competitive grin on her face. "You're on!" she replies and quickly pulls away and heads to the door. She quietly cracks the door open and sees Ulrich standing at his door trying to unlock it. He finally gives up and knocks on the door. After a few more knocks, Odd finally opens the door and Kiwi lets out a couple of barks. Aelita closes the door and turns around. Jeremie's face is beaming in light of his victory. Aelita scowls playfully and acts as if it is no big deal that he won the bet. Jeremie walks over to her and she sticks her nose up at him as he tries to hug her. "Oh. Pouting, are we?" he says. She just snorts at him. "Ah, it's going to be like that, huh? Fine." Jeremie turns around and she watches him out the corner of her eye. "I guess I'll just go back to work," he finishes and a sly smile forms on his lips. Aelita get wide-eyed and nearly lunges at him. "No! No work! Please don't! I'm sorry I snubbed you," she says catching his arm and spinning him around. "But, for your information, I wasn't pouting. I was sulking." Jeremie raises his eyebrows and replies, "There's a difference?" "Yes." She replies simply, half-smiling at him. "Oh. Ok. Sure," he says not wanting to challenge her and just smiles at her.

Aelita sighs and lays her head on his chest. "Oh, I don't want to leave…" Jeremie gently rubs her back and kisses the top of her head. "I know. I don't want you to, but it is getting late. You and I both need to get in bed." He pauses and realizes what he implied as Aelita begins to snicker. "Let me rephrase that: get in our _own_ beds!" Aelita snickers some more and lifts her head up. "You're so cute when you goof up like that!" she comments and kisses his lips. "Thanks. I think," he responds after they separate. She steps back from him and sighs, fighting the temptation to actually stay with him. Jeremie nods and steps around her and opens the door carefully and quietly. Aelita smiles at him and steps out of his room and turn around to kiss him one more time. "Good night, Jeremie. Sleep well." Jeremie returns the kiss and replies, "Good night, Princess. Love you." They kiss one last time and she turns and begins walking down the hallway. Jeremie watches her until she rounds the corner at the end of the hall., then closes his door.

The next morning, Ulrich wakes up and glances at his clock._ Six o'clock. Great. I wake up this early on a day that I don't have to get up until ten… figures,_ he thinks to himself and rolls over trying to get back to sleep. Suddenly he feels something land on his bed. Just as he lifts his head to see what it was, a slobbery tongue rakes across his face and the distinctive smell of dog-breath fills his nostrils. He snaps awake and sits up, instinctively shoving the furry intruder onto the floor. "ODD!" he shouts as he wipes the dog slobber off his face. Odd mumbles incoherently and rolls over. Ulrich scowls at him. He looks down and sees Kiwi sitting on the floor looking up at him with his tail wagging. Ulrich slides out of the bed and picks up Kiwi. "Come here, Kiwi! I think your master misses you!" he spits out in anger. "Maybe you should wake him up so he won't be alone!" Ulrich walks over to Odd's bed and drops Kiwi on Odd's head. Odd begins to flail and Kiwi wisely jumps off the bed before he is knocked off. Odd sits up almost in a panic and looks around the room wildly. "Wha—what was THAT?" he stammers. Then he sees an angry Ulrich glowering at him. Odd instantly scoots backwards against the wall and pulls his covers up to his nose.

"Keep your dog off my bed and if he EVER licks my face at this hour in the morning again, I swear, I will cut his tongue out!" threatens Ulrich. Odd sits on his bed not saying a word, wide-eyed and shocked. Ulrich turns to look at Kiwi, who has taken refuge under the desk, and says, "And I will do it, too!" Ulrich then turns back to his bed and sees dog hair all over the sheets. He puts his hand on his face and grits his teeth. "Great. More laundry…" he says disdainfully. Odd slumps slowly back into his bed but never takes his eyes off Ulrich. Ulrich sighs heavily and begins peeling the bed coverings off.

"S-Sorry, dude. I didn't know he was up. Usually he wakes up when I do…" Odd says meekly. "And he usually sleeps on the foot of my bed."

Ulrich pauses and sighs. "It's alright. Just make sure that he doesn't do that again, ok?" he replies now obviously more calm than he was a minute ago. Ulrich wads the covers up and tosses them at the foot of his bed with the rest of his laundry. He walks over to his chest of drawers and pulls out a fresh set. Odd relaxes more and sits up in the bed, pulling his knees under his chin.

"Hey, Ulrich?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Ulrich glances at his friend and nods. "Sure. What's on your mind?"

"How did you feel when you discovered your twin?"

Ulrich pauses and thinks for a second. "Honestly? I felt scared and angry all at the same time. And I kept bouncing between the two, especially when he paralyzed me with those shuriken." Ulrich surveys his friend and notices he's acting a bit out of character. Odd has sullen up and seems to have a rather distant look to him. "Odd, what's wrong? You've been… different since they attacked us. You're not your usual weird self. I mean, you turned down _food_ yesterday at Yumi's house."

Odd frowns, staring intensely at his bed. "I feel… violated. Something was taken from that was personal and then perverted into something utterly evil."

Ulrich walks over and places a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I know how you feel, Odd. It happened to all of us. Well, except for Jeremie, of course. The best thing for us to do is figure out a way to stop them."

Odd snorts and turns his head away from Ulrich. "You make it sound as if they're just another one of X.A.N.A.'s brainless monsters, but they're not! They are US! No, they're BETTER than us!" Ulrich steps back in shock at his statement.

"Don't think I'm taking this as casually as you imply. I know this is serious. But I'm not going to try and contain my anger inside me and let it cloud my judgment. And, sure, they maybe stronger or faster than us, but they are not unbeatable."

Odd shoots him a disbelieving glance. "And how do you know that?" Ulrich crosses his arms and replies, "Because they have our DNA. We can be defeated, though I don't like to admit it, and since we can, they can. It's just a matter of figuring out how. Relax, Odd. We will beat them!"

Odd frowns at him and turns away again. "Maybe you can afford to relax, Ulrich, but I can't. I have to be ready for the next time!" And with that, Odd tosses his covers off him and gets up, grabs his gym clothes off the floor and heads out the door, leaving Ulrich standing in the middle of the room baffled.

Meanwhile, Aelita stirs underneath the sheets of her bed and fights her body's desire to wake up. She manages to drift back to sleep and begins to dream. Her dream starts off as a normal day with Jeremie in school but then turns… weird. She sees in her dream Jeremie get purple blotches on his face and claim that it is the next best thing in fashion. Then Yumi walks up to them wearing a white t-shirt and red plaid pants. She giggles as she realizes that Yumi's teeth are missing. Then Ulrich joins them but his head is stuck on Kiwi's body and acts oblivious to that fact. Just when Aelita believes the dream couldn't be that bad, it turns scary. The face of her twin breaks into the scene and begins to laugh at her hatefully. "You are the weakest one, Aelita!" the face calls to her. "You will not be the one to go first, however! I will eliminate your so called 'friends' first, then I will strangle the life force out of you slowly!" Aelita sees her friends begin to melt as if they were wax figures left in the sun too long. She then hears a commotion and sees Odd, who looks as if he was colored on by a kindergartner, try to reshape them but finds himself melting also. Aelita then hears a scream…

She sits up and realizes that it is her screaming. She feels tears streaming down her face and glances around the room. Her eyes stop on her clock as it just turns to six thirty. Aelita inhales deeply to try and calm herself, but she can't shake the feeling that her dream was real. She wipes the tears away and swings her legs off her bed. Aelita rests her head in her hands and tries to force the images of her friends, her Jeremie, melting away out of her mind. Then, her mind begins replaying the piercing words of her twin from the dream.

"_You are the weakest one…"_

Aelita feels pangs of realization hit her. "No… no I'm not! I… I can fight back!" she mumbles to herself, trying to counteract the feelings of helplessness that has begun to grip her.

"I will eliminate your so called 'friends'…" 

Suddenly, Aelita feels defiance begin to stir in her and raises her head. "No. No you won't kill them. We will stop you!" she says confidently and wipes away a tear that threatens to roll down her cheek. "And I will get stronger!" Aelita gets up, turns on the room light, and gets a change of clothes from her drawers and her gym bag from the closet. Then she exits her room with a determined look on her face.

Ulrich finishes locking his door when Aelita rounds the corner. He notices her coming towards him and smiles at her. "Hey, Aelita. You're up early also, I see." She nods and returns his smile. "Yeah. I… couldn't stay asleep." Ulrich bends over and picks up his gym bag and slings it over his shoulder. "If you're looking for Jeremie, I think he's still in his room asleep." Aelita shakes her head. "Then let him sleep. I came to see you, Ulrich." Ulrich's eyebrows flick up slightly. "Ok…" he starts hesitantly. He notices Aelita is struggling with something but she finally gathers her courage. "Ulrich, I'd like to ask a favor of you." Ulrich shrugs and responds, "Sure. What is it?" Aelita shifts nervously and replies, "I would like for you to show me some self-defense moves to help me out, if that's ok." Ulrich smiles and nods. "Sure. No problem. Yumi and me are going to the gym to do some sparring. You can join us if you want." Aelita smiles at him and nods. "I will. Thanks, Ulrich. I appreciate this!" Hey, it's no problem. Just ask anytime!" The two friends start walking down the hall and Aelita glances at Jeremie's door as they pass it. "Heh, you didn't keep him up past his bedtime did you?" Ulrich jokes. Aelita giggles and replies, "No, but it was tempting. How about you? Did you keep Yumi up past her bedtime?" Ulrich shakes his head. "No, but as you said, it was tempting!" The two laugh as they begin to descend the staircase to the ground floor.

Moments later, Aelita and Ulrich arrive at Yumi's house. Ulrich knocks on the door and Yumi pokes her head out the upstairs window. "Hey, Baby! Hi, Aelita! Be right down!", she calls down to them. A minute later, Yumi opens the door and steps out, locking it behind her. She turns and kisses Ulrich. "Morning, Babe! Sleep well?" she inquires hooking her arm in his. "For the most part. Right up until Kiwi decided that I was better off awake than asleep." Yumi giggles and turns to Aelita. "Morning to you too. How are you?" Aelita smiles slightly and answers, "Fine. I rested nicely, but then again, I didn't have the furry alarm clock that Ulrich had!" The girls laugh and Ulrich frowns unamused. "Ha, ha. Very funny," he says as the three walk towards the Kadic school grounds.

"Hey, have either of you noticed any change in Odd's behavior since our last visit to Lyoko?" asks Ulrich. Yumi thinks for a moment then replies, "Yeah, he actually turned down food yesterday! He never turns down food!" Aelita nods. "He also seemed… dispirited once he became lucid after getting de-virtualized. Of course, being Odd, he tried to hide it, but you could tell he was affected by what happened. Why do you ask?" Ulrich shoves his hands in his pockets and watches the ground as the trio walks. "Well, this morning he said some things that were almost borderline revengeful. I'm really worried about him. He was so out of character. It's as if he took his defeat personally." Yumi widens her eyes in mild shock. "Wow. That is out of character. There was only one other time he got like that and that was when Samantha was nearly…" She stops herself and presses her lips together. "…you know," she finishes quietly. "Yeah, I remember, but he bounced back quickly from that and got back to his old self," Ulrich replies. "That's because the situation was resolved quickly. This problem hasn't been resolved yet. It could take awhile," Yumi states. Ulrich frowns slightly and nods in agreement. "Well, I hope this 'twin dilemma' we have gets fixed soon. I'd hate to see me best friend start down a path that he'd normally wouldn't take, if you know what I mean." Yumi and Aelita nods and the trio walk a little farther on in silence. "I know how Yumi is taking it, but what about you, Aelita? How are you handling this twin thing?", Ulrich finally asks. Aelita frowns and turns her head away. "I have to be honest. When I am with Jeremie or you guys, I feel like I'm handling it ok, but when I'm alone, I feel so… helpless. Like this morning, I had a nightmare that included my twin. She said some things to me that, if you don't mind, I don't want to repeat. Just know that it… scared me." Yumi puts an arm across Aelita's shoulder to comfort her. "It'll be ok. Just remember that it was only a dream," reassures Yumi smiling at her. "I know, Yumi, but the things that were said, they cut me deeply," replies Aelita hanging her head slightly. "Well, remember this: no matter what anyone says about you, true or untrue, real person or dream, you will always have a friend in us and will always be loved by Jeremie, no matter what!" Yumi says smiling. Aelita smiles as Yumi's words begin to strengthen her. "Thanks, Yumi. I appreciate it," Aelita replies smiling.

At the gym, Odd works the punching bag, unaware that Sam has dropped by and was watching him. His focus is entirely on the bag, making sure each punch lands as hard as the previous one. She smiles slightly as she admires his concentration.

_The only other time he looks so focused is when there is several platefuls of food in front of him!_ she thinks to herself and chuckles softly. Just then the gym door opens and Sam sees Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita enter. Odd doesn't notice them come in and continues to pound the bag. The trio pause in shock as they see Odd punching away. Then Yumi spots Sam and waves cautiously to her. Sam waves slightly and sighs nervously. The trio walks over to her and Aelita breaks the ice first. "Hello, Samantha! It has been a while!" Sam nods and smiles, not really sure what to say. "Its just Sam. Nice to see you too, Aelita. Yumi, you look well," Sam replies. Yumi smiles and says "You, too. How have you been?" Sam fidgets and answers, "Fine. Just trying to get used to Kadic still. I see that you are still in one piece, Ulrich." Ulrich smiles and blushes slightly. "Yeah, I've learned to stay on Yumi's good side." Yumi smiles and kisses his cheek. "Yeah, he has. It only took one lesson! I'm proud of him!" The girls giggle and Ulrich's face gets redder. "Hey, I'm going to go get changed out, Babe. Then we can get started," Yumi says. Aelita nods and chimes in, "Yes, me too." Ulrich sits his bag down as Yumi and Aelita head off to the girl's locker room. "I see you have a new student," Sam muses. Ulrich pulls out his towel and a bottle of water as he glances up at Sam. "Kinda. Aelita just wants me to show her some basic moves." Sam nods and Ulrich sits down to take off his shoes. Once he does, he steps out onto the floor and begins to stretch.

Odd finishes his punching spree on the bag and notices Ulrich running through one of his martial art patterns in the middle of the gym floor. He raises an eyebrow and picks up his towel off of the nearby chair. He wipes the sweat off his face and tosses it onto the back of the chair. Then he notices Sam sitting on the bleachers, watching him. A smile creeps onto his face and feels a bit embarrassed. He waves to her and she smiles and waves back. Then Odd sees Yumi and Aelita come out of the girl's locker room. Yumi is wearing black pants that have two parallel white stripes running down the side of each leg and a black form fit tank top. Her hair has been pulled up into a ponytail and held in place by a black scrunchie. Aelita is wearing a pair of pink jersey shorts and a white tank top over a pink short sleeved shirt. Both girls walk over to where Ulrich's bag sits and takes off their shoes. "Ulrich is teaching Aelita martial arts?", Odd whispers to himself. "Wow. Cool." He smiles as the trio begins to stretch some more, with Ulrich showing Aelita how to stretch properly. Odd sighs and picks up his water bottle and takes a quick drink, then walks cautiously over to them.

"Hey, guys. Gonna get ya a good workout?" Odd asks weakly.

"Try to, anyways," replies Yumi. "You know Ulrich. Hardly gives me a reason to break a sweat!" Ulrich eyes her and replies, "Really? I guess I'll have to fix that!" She chuckles and shakes her head. "No, no! That's ok! Really!" Aelita stands nervously next to Yumi and says, "Well, I plan on getting a little workout, courtesy of Ulrich." Odd nods and smiles. There is a bit of an awkward pause and Odd finally turns to Ulrich. " Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ulrich nods and replies, "Sure, Odd. Keep stretching, you two, until I get back." Then the two boys walk over to the punching bag Odd was working on. Odd nervously fidgets with his hand wraps, then finally speaks.

"Hey, Ulrich, I'm sorry about this morning. I shouldn't have stormed out like that and said all those things."

Ulrich nods and smiles at him. "It's alright, Odd. I understand that you've been taking this kinda hard. Look, just forget about it, ok?" Ulrich says forgivingly then chuckles. "And if it makes you feel better, I'm sorry I dropped Kiwi on your head." Odd gives him a quizzical look and then a smile forms across his face. "It's ok. But next time you want to wake me up, use something like breakfast instead." The two laugh and Ulrich glances over at Yumi and Aelita. "Look, I gotta get back to my 'class'. See you at lunch." Odd perks up and his smile expands two sizes. "Lunch; I can taste it already!" Ulrich shakes his head and walks toward Yumi and Aelita. "Ok, ladies, are you loosened up good? I don't want either of you to accidentally pull or strain anything." The two girls nod and Ulrich begins the lesson.

A little while later, Odd walks over and sits down next to Sam to watch Ulrich teach Yumi and Aelita. Sam smiles at him as he takes a drink from his newly refilled bottle of water. "How are they doing?" he asks motioning slightly toward the two girls with his hand. Sam nods and replies, "Well, Yumi is holding her own pretty well, but then again, she's been learning from him a lot longer than Aelita. Aelita is doing well for her first time, don't get me wrong, but she's still gotta get more confidence in herself. And what about you? How did you do?" Odd chuckles and takes another drink. "My arms feel like they're gonna fall off. But I did manage to work up an appetite!" Sam giggles softly and brushes a strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear.. "Odd, your appetite never goes away. It just gets enough to keep quiet for a couple of hours!"

"Ok, that's enough technique. Now to put it into practice a little," Ulrich says. Yumi gets an excited and competitive smile on her face that Aelita finds almost frightening. Ulrich turns to her and says, "Aelita, we're going to do a little bit of sparring, but since this is your first lesson, I'm going to give you a choice. You can either go first or wait and go after Yumi." Aelita raises her eyebrows and freezes, not sure how to respond. "Don't worry, I won't run over you. I'll help you out and work with you. Now, since Yumi has been doing this for a while, I know she can handle herself. If you want, you can wait until after Yumi and I spar, just to see how it goes. Or you can step out and go first. Your choice."

Aelita glances nervously over at Yumi who is smiling. "Relax, Aelita. It's fun, really! And Ulrich does take care of you. I was just as nervous as you when I first sparred, but after I did, I found out that I enjoyed it. I also found out that when I spar, I get the best work out," Yumi says encouragingly, Aelita inhales and then decides to just spar now and get it over with. "Ok, I go first," she states. Ulrich smiles and nods. "Alright, let me get you some gear. Yumi, I'll have you referee for us," Ulrich says and motions for Aelita to follow him over to his gym bag. Yumi nods and begins to stretch to keep herself limber. Ulrich reaches into his bag and pulls out two pairs of sparring gloves. He hands a pair to Aelita and says, "Try these on to see if they fit. If not, see if Yumi's fit." Aelita slides the fingerless and padded gloves on and nods toward him. "They fit fine." Ulrich finishes putting his on and walks back out onto the floor. Aelita follows as she opens and closes her hands, trying to get used to the gloves and the extra weight they put on her hands.

"Ok, we'll go very slow at the start until you get a little more comfortable, then we'll pick it up a bit," Ulrich says turning to face her when the two reach the middle of the floor. She nods and he raises his hands. "How should I start?", Aelita asks raising her hands, trying to mimic Ulrich's hand position. "Well, first of all, don't try and copy your opponent move by move. Granted, there are times for that, but I want you to make up your own style. But also feel free to incorporate things you see other people do into your technique. If you see me or Yumi or even Odd do something you like, take it and use it. As for right now, just start off simple. Use those basic techniques you know." Aelita nods and nervously advances toward him. She throws a punch but is too far away from him. Aelita feels her face turn red and steps in closer. She throws a kick and he gently blocks it. "Good, you realized you can get in closer. Be sure to always watch your distancing. You don't want to waste energy on things that doesn't even come close to connecting," Ulrich coaches. Aelita nods and throws another kick. Ulrich blocks it and throws a punch of his own. He makes it come obviously short of her. She tries to block it wildly. "Watch out that you don't waste energy trying to block things that aren't even going to connect with you, either. Learn to judge where things are going and where they'll stop. However, be careful, because things can change mid-stream," he advises. Then he side-kicks at her, and as she tries to block it, he changes the kick into a front kick and gently taps her stomach. She looks surprised and jumps. "Whoa!" she exclaims and steps back. Ulrich smiles reassuringly at her and she regains her composure. "Come on, let's go." Aelita nods and steps toward him, throwing a punch. He blocks it softly and punches at her. She blocks it and smiles, feeling her confidence beginning to grow slightly. The two spar like that for a little while longer, then Ulrich says, "Now, try putting combinations together of two or more moves. Don't limit yourself by only throwing one technique at a time." She nods and kicks at him twice. He blocks both kicks and says, "Good! Keep it up!" They spar for another minute and Ulrich backs away from her quickly. "Ok, that's enough, Aelita." She lets out a sigh of relief and smiles thankfully at him. Odd and Sam begin to applaud and cheer. "Good job, Aelita!" Odd shouts. Aelita blushes and walks over to the bleachers. She plops down and begins to take off the gloves. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" Ulrich asks. Aelita shakes her head no, picks up her water bottle, and takes a drink. Yumi gives her a thumbs up then turns to Ulrich. "Oh goody! My turn!" she exclaims happily. Ulrich nods and she turns toward her gym bag. Yumi gets out her gloves and puts them on.

"Oh, boy! This is where the fun begins!" states Odd. Aelita looks over at him and asks, "Why's that?" Odd gives her a big smile and replies, "Well, their sparring sessions are very fun to watch because sometimes, it gets a little personal. Yumi tries to get away with something, but Ulrich repays her and then a vicious cycle forms. Usually, Ulrich has to take Yumi to the ground and pin her to get her to finally stop." Sam nods in agreement. "Yeah, I don't know how many times Ulrich has had to do that," she states. "Wow. I don't know why she wouldn't want to stop…" Aelita says. "It's a pride thing. Yumi is just not going to give up," Odd answers.

Yumi and Ulrich face each other and Yumi has a determined look on her face. "Ok, Yumi, here's what I want you to work on. I want you to work on doing multiple lead-leg kicks. I want to see you doubling or tripling up on the lead-leg before doing a spin or a turn kick, ok? Also, don't forget you can use different heights of kicks," Ulrich instructs. Yumi nods and shakes her arms to loosen them up. "Ok, sparring positions!" Ulrich shouts. The two step a leg backwards and raise their hands. "Begin!" Ulrich says and stretches his front hand out and Yumi tags it, signifying that she's ready. Yumi instantly lunges at him with a double round kick to the head but Ulrich blocks both kicks then counters with a side kick that lands on Yumi stomach. She staggers backward a couple of steps and Ulrich advances toward her, throwing a couple of jabs at her. She blocks the first one and dodges the second. Jim walks into the gym and pauses for a moment when he sees Ulrich and Yumi sparring. "Oh, boy. There they go again…." he says shaking his head.

Yumi kicks at Ulrich's midsection, but he deflects her kick, spinning her around backwards. She kicks backwards toward him, but he slides to the side and kicks her, gently landing the kick on her chest. Yumi growls at him and double round kicks at him, one kick low and the other high. He blocks the kicks and dodges a jab to his face. Yumi throws two more jabs, which Ulrich blocks, then throws a reverse punch. Ulrich turns and the punch lands sharply on his shoulder. She follows up the punch with a round kick to his gut but realizes that he set her up when he grabs her leg. "Oh, no…!" she squeaks just before Ulrich quickly takes her other leg out from under her. She break-falls as not to injure herself, but then feels Ulrich land on her chest, pinning her down. She struggles to free a hand but Ulrich lets all of his weight rest on her. "Ak! Ulrich!" Yumi says struggling. Ulrich smiles at her but Yumi frowns. Suddenly she uses her legs to push upwards and tosses enough of him off her to get her right arm free. "I see you've been practicing," Ulrich states as Yumi tries to hook her free arm around his neck. Yumi smiles deviously and replies, "You bet!" Ulrich smiles again and grabs her free arm. Then Yumi realizes that he set her up again. "No…! Not again!" she says as he shifts his body and quickly turns her over on her stomach. He uses her captured arm to pin her in a shoulder lock. Yumi presses her lips together in defiance, despite not being able to do anything. "Are you done?" he asks her. She shakes her body a couple of times to see in there are any weak spots, but then relaxes. "I guess. Let me up, please?" "Only if you promise not to do what you did last time." "What! I didn't do anything last time!" she exclaims. "Then your memory is going bad. I seem to recall that after I let you up the last time we sparred, you kicked me in the behind!" he retorts. Yumi's face reddens and she tries to suppress a laugh. "How do you know that was me?" she asks playfully. "Because no one else would dare do that!" he snaps back with a suppressed smile. "Oh. Can I get up now?" Yumi asks innocently. "You still haven't promised me." Ulrich replies. "Oh, ok! I promise!" she agrees and Ulrich releases her then stands. She rolls over onto her back and he takes both her hands to help her up.

"Well, that was disappointing," pipes up Odd. Yumi and Ulrich turn their heads to look at him curiously. "What?" asks Ulrich uncertainly. "I mean, that was short and very mild. Not really that exciting," he replies disappointedly. "Oh, I'm sorry, Odd. I completely forgot to be entertaining when my face was being pressed against the gym floor!" Yumi returns sarcastically. Sam and Aelita chuckle softly as Odd gives Yumi a hurt look. Then, the ring of a cell phone catches very one's attention and everyone immediately checks to see whose it is. "It's mine!" states Aelita as she pulls out her pink phone.

"Hello?"

"Yes, I would like to place a lunch order, please! I would like a couple of whole boiled lobsters, a side of baked potato with sour cream and lots of butter, and a huge chocolate fudge sundae smothered in almonds!"

Aelita presses her lips together and narrows her eyes in aggravation. "Jeremie BelPois, I swear, I'm going to smack you if you keep that up!" Snickers escape the lips of the four people who are straining to hear the conversation. On the other end of the line, Jeremie begins to laugh and Aelita shakes her head in embarrassment. "I hope you don't expect me to buy you all that for lunch," she continues. "No, I don't. But it would be nice!" Jeremie replies cheerily. "Yes, I bet it would," Aelita states sarcastically. "But all you're getting is bread and water!" She hears Jeremie laugh again and then he clears his throat. "Listen, I'm heading to the factory to start inputting the data for the second Seal. Just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't have to come and find me. I don't care what you bring for lunch, but be sure Odd doesn't get into it!" Aelita nods and replies playfully, "Ok, Jeremie. I'll think about getting you something more than bread and water. Maybe." Jeremie chuckles and she continues, "I'll see you soon. Bye, love you!" "Love you, too!" he says right before hanging up. Aelita puts her phone back into her bag and glances up to see her friends looking at her expectantly. "What?" she asks innocently. "Well? What's this lunch thing that's going on?" asks Yumi. Aelita sighs and replies, "It was a simple bet, and I lost. Nothing serious." "What was the bet on?" inquires Ulrich, now putting his gloves in his gym bag. "Well, it was about what would happen when you opened the door to your room last night," she replies crossing her arms. Yumi and Ulrich look at each other wide-eyed and knew what each other were thinking. Aelita realizes what they must be thinking and states, "Get your minds out of the gutters. We weren't doing anything!" Yumi smiles devilishly and replies, "Yeah, sure," She turns to Ulrich. "I'm going to go get changed out. Then we can go get our own lunch!" Ulrich nods and takes a drink of his water. Odd and Sam stand and Odd turns to Sam. "Hey, you wanna to go get lunch too?" he asks with a nervous smile on his face. Sam looks at him, pondering his request. "Depends. Will you eat like a decent human being?" Odd gets a hurt look on his face and replies, "What's that supposed to mean?" "Just what I said. Will you?" she asks again. "Good luck on that happening," states Ulrich. Odd shoots him a hard glance. "No one asked you," Odd snaps then redirects to Sam. "I will try." Sam sighs and nods. "I guess that's good enough." The two wave to Ulrich and Aelita as they turn to leave. Yumi returns and Aelita stands. "I'm going to go change. You two go on with out me. I'm going to go and get Jeremie's lunch after I change," she says. "Ok, Aelita. Have fun!" Yumi says smiling. Ulrich picks up his bag and he and Yumi hold hands as they leave the gym.

Jeremie yawns as he waits for the elevator to return to the surface. He steps into it as the door slide open. He taps in the code and the elevator beings descending. Then, he hears his laptop beeping. He pulls it out and opens the lid. Jeremie grows wide-eyed as he sees what is on the screen. "Oh, no…." he whispers with dread in his voice. He quickly reaches for his phone.

Yumi and Ulrich sit next to each other at Yumi's house, enjoying the ham and turkey sandwiches Yumi prepared for them. "You're a good cook, Yumi!" Yumi pauses and eyes him cautiously. "Thanks. That was a compliment, right?" Ulrich turns to look at her innocently. "Of course! What else would it be?" Yumi nods and replies, "Good answer." Suddenly, Yumi's cell phone rings and she picks it up. "Hello?" "Yumi! Is Ulrich there with you?" asks a frantic Jeremie. "Yeah. What's up?" she replies. "Get to the factory! X.A.N.A.'s awake!" he states and Yumi gives a puzzled Ulrich a look that tells him what the trouble is. He sighs and gets his phone out and dials Odd.

Odd tries to suppress his appetite in front of Sam but finds that the temptation to have thirds almost too much. Then he feels his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out and answers, "Ulrich, this had better be important…" "Odd, get to the factory. X.A.N.A.'s on the move." Odd crinkles his face in anger and nods. "Ok, be there shortly." Sam gives him a quizzical look and sees the disappointment and anger in his eyes. Odd stands from the table where they are sitting and looks at her apologetically. "Sorry, Sam. Something's come up with Einstein. I gotta go," he says sadly. She sighs in mild disappointment and nods. She's seen this before but lets it go, knowing that he will tell her everything about…. these emergencies that he goes on, when he is ready to. "It's ok, Odd. Go." He gives her a weak smile and takes off. "And be careful…" she whispers after he's gone.

Aelita hangs up the phone after getting off with Jeremie. She sets down the pizza on her desk and curses X.A.N.A mentally for ruining her lunch with Jeremie. She leaves her room and takes off down the hallway. Then she sees Sissi standing at the entrance. She tries to squeeze past Sissi, who is taking up most of the doorway, but bumps into her. "Hey, watch it, Aelita!" Sissi snaps as Aelita continues to run past her. "Sorry, but I'm in a hurry!" Aelita calls back to her. "You better watch where you're going, Aelita, or I'll get my daddy to move you out onto the street!" Aelita ignores her threat and continues toward the factory.

Jeremie exits the elevator to the control room, but he stops almost instantly when he enters. The lighting in the room is dim and he blinks his eyes to try to get them to adjust to the lower level of light.

_This is odd. The lights have never been dim like this before…_ he thinks to himself. A few seconds later, he begins to see well enough to start toward the computer console and chair. Jeremie finally finds his way into the chair and activates the console screens.

_Wow, something has drained the power drastically._ Jeremie begins to run a diagnostic and suddenly realizes that two life forms are being detected in the scanner room. "No way that's Yumi and Ulrich. They haven't had enough time to get here…" he whispers to himself. A few keystrokes later and the identity of the life forms sends a wave of fear over him and chills down his back. He reached for his cell and begins dialing Yumi.

Yumi answers her phone as her and Ulrich reach their skateboards that are placed in the tunnel. "Jeremie? What's going on?" she asks. She hears him swallow loudly and say, "Yumi, they're here… in the scanner room…" It takes her a second to figure out what he is talking about. "Just hold on, Jeremie. We're almost there!" she reassures him. Ulrich watches his girlfriend intently as she hangs up. Her face is pale and fear is present in her eyes. "What is it? What's happened, Yumi?" Ulrich asks, now getting worried. "Ulrich, they're here…"

Jeremie tries frantically to send the elevator to the surface to delay them from getting to the control room but fails when the elevator suddenly stops obeying his commands. He watches helplessly as the life signs board the elevator and it begin to ascend. "No…" he whispers in fear as he hears the elevator come to rest at the door. He feels the air in the room get thick with fear as the door slides open, revealing two shadowy figures standing inside the elevator. Sweat beads roll down his brow and onto his glasses' lens.

Ulrich slams his fist against the elevator door in frustration. "Dang it! What's wrong with this thing!" he nearly screams. Yumi firmly grabs his shoulders. "Take it easy, Ulrich. We'll just have to go down the other way!" she says. Ulrich grunts angrily and hears Aelita coming up from behind them. She pauses when she sees Yumi and Ulrich standing in front of the elevator doors. "What's wrong, Yumi?" Aelita asks upon seeing Ulrich upset. "The elevator's not responding. We'll have to go the other way," Yumi replies, trying to calm Ulrich down by gently massaging his shoulders. Ulrich finally lets out a large sigh and relaxes a bit. "Yumi, you and Aelita head on down. I'll wait for Odd and meet you there." Yumi starts to object but nods in agreement. "Ok, Babe. Don't be too long." She kisses him on the cheek and heads off with Aelita following close behind her.

Jeremie breathes heavily and backs up against the wall. "Well, well, well. What have we here?" asks a female voice that is suspiciously like Aelita's. "If you weren't wearing those nerdy clothes and have on those goofy glasses, you might just be a bit cute!" says the girl stepping towards him. He swallows nervously. "But I can't be too sure. It's a bit too dark to tell." "I'll see what I can do about that," says the other voice, which is also female. Jeremie strains to see through the dimness what the other figure is doing, but can't quite make out what is going on. Suddenly the lights brighten and he blinks in the sudden illumination. He looks up to see two girls that look almost exactly like Aelita and Yumi standing before him. Jeremie notices that the two are clothed exactly how Aelita and Yumi described them to be clothed on Lyoko. He gasps and Atilea steps closer to him. "Well, that's better, now isn't it?" she says with a demonic smile on her face. "My, you are cute. I'm Atilea! Hope you don't mind if I get the introductions out of the way!" Jeremie freezes in fear as she plants her hand hard on the wall next to his head. "We don't have time for this, Atilea," snorts the ebony haired girl, leaning impatiently against the adjacent wall. "Shut up, Imuy. You're just jealous because I saw him first!" snaps Atilea at her. "Whatever," says Imuy blandly. Suddenly, the maintenance door opens and Yumi and Aelita step into the room. They freeze when they see Atilea and Imuy standing across the room. Aelita sees Jeremie next to Atilea and gasps. "Jeremie!" she shouts and starts toward him but Yumi catches her arm. "No! Stay here!" Yumi commands. Atilea raises an eyebrow. "So, it's Jeremie, is it?" she says to Jeremie. Jeremie looks at her, unable to speak.

Atilea turns and looks back at Aelita. "I hope you don't mind me getting to know him a little better!"

And before anyone can say or do anything, Atilea turns back around and plants a huge kiss on Jeremie's lips.


	6. Feelings, nothing more than Feelings

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Code: Lyoko, the characters thereof, blah blah blah, and other legal junk…_

_Oookayy. For starters, this has got to be the LONGEST chapter to date. I just couldn't really find a good place to end it. There was sooo much to put in, it just kept going. But I finally reached a good place for a cliffie…Anyways, this is mainly an emotional roller coaster type chapter. Hope you enjoy it!_

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part V: Feelings, Nothing more than Feelings**

Time slowed almost to a stand still. Seconds felt like minutes and minutes like hours. The only thing that seemingly wasn't slowed was the droning hum of the computer, but eventually the meticulous timing of the droning slurred into one big hum. It seemed as if everyone were in slow motion when they did move.

Her twin had separated herself from Jeremie's lips and started laugh mockingly. Then Aelita felt something snap inside her. Now, it felt as if she were watching what was taking place in third person. She had yanked her arm out of Yumi's grasp so hard, she nearly pulled Yumi over. The only thing Aelita physically felt was her heart thumping in her chest and the pounding of her feet on the metal floor. Mentally, there was a feeling of anger so intense that it caused her mind to practically shut down.

Atilea, oblivious to Aelita's current state of motion, grabs Jeremie by the throat and picks him up. Then slides him about three inches up the wall, causing his glasses to fall to the floor. Her demonic laughter filled his ears as he struggled to get air into his lungs.

Yumi froze to the spot where she stood until she saw Imuy pull out a tessen fan. Imuy was so focused on Aelita that she didn't see Yumi coming. The next thing Imuy feels is her face being pressed into the cold floor of the control room and her shoulder being painfully locked behind her. Yumi grimaces and looks up at Aelita.

Ulrich and Odd, who have just arrived, stands frozen, staring in shock and awe at the scene.

Aelita feels the sensation of running, but her normally logical and passive mind has left her. Tears being to blind her, but she somehow manages to reach her destination.

Atilea turns surprised by the noise and a look of shock instantly appears on her face when she sees that Aelita is nearly on top of her. Then Aelita shoves Atilea with both arms, causing Atilea to stumble backward and smack into the wall. Atilea tries to regain her balance and recover from the shove, but is met by a punch to the face that sends her unbalanced body to the floor. She yelps in pain and clutches her face.

"DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HIM AGAIN!" screams a furious Aelita. She begins to shake with rage as tears distort her vision and her body seizes up.

Suddenly, a coughing fit from Jeremie snaps Aelita back to reality and she turns to see him red-faced and breathing heavily, trying to recover.

"JEREMIE!" she yells and runs to him. She throws her arms around him and sobs loudly. Jeremie flinches but finds that he can't move due to another person holding onto him tightly. He blinks as he tries to wrap his mind around what just happened to him and turns to the person who is latched onto him, but discovers that all he can see is a blurry pink mass that he believes is Aelita's hair.

Atilea lifts herself off the floor and pulls her hand away from her face. The look of shock remains as she glances around the room wildly. Pain…. She felt pain. It was a feeling so foreign that her mind didn't know quite how to handle it. Then, she feels a trickle of wetness begin to run down from her lower lip. She slowly lifts her hand to her lip and feels…. something more than just wetness. It was just a little bit sticky, not like water. Water also had less viscosity than this. She pulls her hand back and sees a bright red liquid on her finger that was slowly becomes tacky. Her eyes widen in shock. This substance had a name: blood. Her mind struggled with this revelation. Then her mind stopped trying to deal with the new information and turned to the cause of it. Aelita. She caused her to bleed! Anger then replaced the shock and she started to stand.

"I wouldn't move if I were you," says a gruff, male voice from above her. She freezes for a second before looking up to see Yumi holding the opened tessen fan close to her head, standing next to a brown haired boy. "She's in a very foul mood and I wouldn't push her any farther," the boy continues as Yumi's scowl deepens. Atilea's eyes fall to the fan and it's sharp edges, then back up to the couple.

Imuy struggles against her restrains as Odd kneels down next to her. She narrows her eyes in hatred at him but remains silent. Odd stares back at her with the same disdain and disgust. "Go away, you freak!" she spits out at him through gritted teeth. Odd snorts defiantly at her. "No. Since _you_ were the ones who missed us so much that you just _had_ to come here, I'm gonna stay right here so you can get your fill of me!" replies Odd, leaning in closer to her face. Imuy bites at his face but he easily dodges the attack and she nearly falls over on her side.

Ulrich finishes tying the rope around Atilea's ankles as Yumi keeps the sharp edge of the fan near to Atilea's neck to keep her from trying to kick him. He tests the rope to make sure it is tight enough, then stands. Atilea just stares straight ahead angrily, not saying a word or making a noise. Yumi closes the fan and glances at it then over to her now sullen twin. She notices that her twin's clothes are exactly like the uniform worn on Lyoko. Yumi turns to look at Atilea and notices the same thing with her. Then, she notices Aelita helping a still unsteady Jeremie to his feet.

Jeremie leans against the cool wall of the control room as Aelita gently leans her head against his chest. He rubs his neck and swallows to dampen his now dry throat. He blinks and tries to focus on anything in the room but gives up after a couple of tries. "My…. glasses…." he whispers to Aelita. "Where are they? I…. can't see." Aelita lifts her head and glances around. She sees them and goes to retrieve them. She hands them gently to him and he promptly puts them back on. Jeremie smiles slightly as the world comes back into focus for him. "Thank you," he says to her. She nods and he notices that she is now distanced herself from him a little bit. "Aelita?" he worriedly asks her. Then he gets a glimpse of Imuy and Atilea restrained on the floor. "What…. happened?" Aelita glances up at him briefly and replies, "You don't remember?" He shakes his head slightly. "The last thing I remember was being…. violated by her and then feeling as if someone were crushing my windpipe," Jeremie answers motioning towards Atilea. Atilea tilts her head to look at him and smiles slyly. "The rest is a blur," he finishes. His mind flashes scenes from the violating kiss and he shudders in disgust. Jeremie wipes his mouth and spits. "That was horrible…" he mumbles. Atilea chuckles and leans her head back. Aelita walks over to her and kneels down next to her twin. Atilea regards her lightly and smirks defiantly.

"Why? Why did you… kiss him? Do you really think you have a chance with him?" Aelita asks harshly while staring intently into Atilea's eyes.

Atilea laughs softly at her. "What? You think I have feelings for him? Oh, please. Don't be so naive. I could care less about Nerd Boy."

"Then why?" asks Aelita becoming more intense.

"Because you care for him and I wanted to see how much like me you are!"

Aelita sits back hard against the floor, shocked at Atilea's statement. "I am NOT like you!" she exclaims. Atilea gives her a disbelieving look and replies, "Oh, really? I seem to recall being shoved against the wall and being punched in the face. And if I'm not mistaken, it was YOU who did that!" Aelita sits on the floor completely appalled at Atilea's words, unable to respond. "It was a simple little kiss and you go and fly off the handle like that! Sounds pretty selfish and possessive if you ask me. I guess you are more like me than you'd like to admit!" Aelita feels rage begin to build up inside her and her face turns from shock to anger. Atilea smiles upon seeing the change in Aelita's demeanor. Then she leans slightly closer to Aelita. "Ah, there's that anger and hostility again!" Atilea's tone then changes to a seductively evil tone. "Why don't you just give in to it, Aelita? It is a lot easier to give than try and bottle it up inside. I can see that you want to attack me again! Go on! Do it and prove to me that you are indeed just… like… ME!"

The air is thick with tension as Aelita struggles to maintain her emotions. Then, a hand gently touches her right shoulder and a wave of familiar warmth washed over her. "Don't listen to her, Aelita. She's just trying to mess with your head. I know the real you and that poor creature on tied up on the floor isn't it. All that she is, all that she represents is a perverted and twisted copy of the real thing. All the love, care, and compassion have been stripped away, leaving only a sad husk of existence." Aelita turns her head and looks up to see Jeremie standing beside her with a reassuring smile on his face directed towards her. Atilea shoots him a hostile glance and looks away angrily. "Humph. Besides, that wasn't the greatest kiss in the world. He was so rigid and bland. Felt like I was kissing a rock!" she mumbles. Aelita stands and wraps her arms around his waist as Jeremie gently rubs her back.

Odd smiles to see things beginning to go their way for once. He turns to look at Imuy, who hasn't made a single noise, and regards her disdainfully. "Why you? Why did you come here and not one of the guys?" he asks. She remains silent. "Why were you two sent here? Huh? Answer me!" he nearly yells at her but she still remains silent. Atilea turns to look over at him. "Give it up, Odd. She'll never tell you anything," Atilea says confidently. Odd shoots her an anger glance. "Shut up, I wasn't talking to you!" "Ooh! Such hostility! I can see where Dod gets his attitude from!" Atilea counters with a smile on her lips. "And what about you?" asks Ulrich crossing his arms. Atilea tilts her head to look up at him. "You're welcome to try but I'm not gonna tell you anything either." He frowns and turns his back on her then walks a few steps away and leans against the wall. Yumi glances at the two twins and then walks over to him. She wraps her right arm around his waist and rests her head against his shoulder. Odd crosses his arms and stares down at Imuy.

Yumi raises her head and turns to look at Jeremie. "So, what do we do with them now?" she asks. Jeremie lifts his eyes and glances at Atilea, pondering her question. "We can't keep them here. Imagine the confusion they'd cause if someone discovered them. Also, if by some chance, they escaped, imagine the havoc they'd cause," Yumi continues. "We also can't just send them back to Lyoko. There's nothing to stop them from rematerializing back here." A moment of silence passes as they consider their options.

"I say we dump them in the river," states Odd harshly. Everyone, including Atilea and Imuy, turns and stares at him in shock. "Odd! I can't believe you just suggested that!" exclaims Ulrich after a very awkward and silent pause. "Why not? It would solve two of our problems!" he replies coldly. Odd kneels down to Imuy and stares coldly into her eyes. "Well, you _can_ feel fear, can't you? Good!" he whispers to her. "We can't just dump them in the river, Odd. That suggestion is totally uncharacteristic of you. What's wrong, Odd?" Jeremie says with concern in his voice. Odd snorts and stands, turning away. Jeremie steps away from Aelita toward Odd and stops halfway to him. "You wouldn't understand," Odd replies blandly. "Besides, you haven't given me any reasons to not throw them in the river." "For one, if we did dump them in the river, we'd be no better than them. Also it would mean that there wasn't any difference between us and them. Secondly, if we did, there is a possibility that their bodies would be found either in the river or on a beach or riverbank somewhere. How would we explain how Aelita and Yumi suddenly had a twin sister of sorts?" Jeremie replies firmly. "I've answered you. Now, please answer me. What is wrong, Odd?" he continues with concern. "Maybe later," Odd states blandly. "Now, please don't mention it again." Jeremie lets his shoulders droop in disappointment and sighs, but honors his request.

Aelita walks up behind Jeremie and wraps her arms around his middle then lays her head gently on his back. "Don't worry about him, Jeremie. He'll tell us when he is ready to," she says to him. Jeremie nods and replies, "I know. I just hope he opens up to us before he does something he'll regret." She hugs him and he gently rests a hand on hers. She then turns to look at her twin who has a look of mild relief on her face and is now watching her.

Aelita lifts her head to speak to her. "See? This is the thing that really separates us from you. Our love and care for each other. I wonder if you can say that you care for Imuy or the others. Can you truly say that, Atilea?" Atilea starts to throw out a retort but stops and a faint sadness fills her face. She glances over at Imuy who has a perplexed look on her face. Imuy then replaces her perplexity with coldness. "Why does it matter?" she asks blandly. "It matters when you are faced with the decision to lay down your life for a member of your team or not," states Yumi. Imuy stares at her blankly for a second before responding. "We will never be in that situation. We are superior to you in every way!" Odd smiles and turns around to face her. "And yet, despite that fact, you still ended up being tied up on the floor!" he says. Imuy frowns at him then grows silent. Atilea turns her head to look at her skirt. "Are we really superior?" she whispers to herself ponderously. Then she lifts her head to look at Ulrich and then over to Jeremie. "So, what are you going to do with us? You've made it clear that you are not going to kill us, but you are not going to leave us here nor send us back to Lyoko," Atilea asks. Jeremie turns his head and glances at her. Then a noise from the computer console catches his attention. He looks inquisitively at it and walks over to the console, leaving Aelita behind. Just as soon as he starts to pick it up, a voice resounds from the earpiece that causes him to freeze.

"Atilea! Are you there? Answer me! What's going on over there?" the voice says irritatedly. Jeremie quickly covers the mike and turns to the rest of the group wide-eyed. He motions Aelita to come over to him and she quickly and quietly jogs over to him. "I think it is Dod!" he whispers to her when she gets into earshot. "He's asking for Atilea! Do you think you can act like your twin?" She looks at him and shrugs. "Well, try!" he says and hands her the headset. She looks at it nervously and finally takes it from his hand.

"Hey! Answer me, you stupid, pink-haired broad!" bellows Dod. Aelita swallows nervously and Jeremie motions to Ulrich and Odd to keep Atilea and Imuy quiet.

"Watch what you call me, you jerk!" Aelita responds as gruffly as she can. Dod perks up at the response. "It's about freakin' time! Where have you been?" Aelita begins to put herself in the roll a little more. "Hey, I've been here! Do you have any idea how dark it is? It took some time to get to the control room!" she replies. "I may have incredible abilities, but seeing in pitch black isn't one of them!" Dod frowns and crosses his arms. "Whatever. Just start the materialization program and get us there. We've wasted enough time already!" Aelita's mind races, trying to come up with a feasible excuse not to. Then she sees the power level indicator on the monitor. "I can't. The power level is too low. If I did, the power would give out before you were transferred fully. Then you'd be stuck in limbo! But if that is what you want…" she states in the best snooty voice she can.

Dod grits his teeth with agitation. "How can the power levels be too low? According to Master X.A.N.A.'s estimations, the power should have been up enough by now!" Aelita's mind races once again. "Well, has it ever occurred that maybe the transfer used more power than anticipated?"

Dod sighs and runs his hand down his face if frustration. "FINE. Then transfer me first. Then H'cirlu. Is that satisfactory enough for you, your _highness_?" Aelita smiles deviously and replies, "Why should I transfer you first? Why not H'cirlu first?"

Dod stares in disbelief. "You're joking, right? Don't tell me you are going to nit-pick about something as insignificant as that!" Aelita sits back in the computer chair and smiles in enjoyment. "Yes, I am. I'm in control over here and the way I see it, I'm in control of who transfers next!" "We don't have time for this, Atilea! Just transfer Dod first if it'll make him shut up!" exclaims an annoyed H'cirlu. Aelita turns to Jeremie for guidance, realizing she may not be able to stall them for much longer. Jeremie shrugs and begins to rack his mind, trying to figure out the next move. "Fine. But I want Dod to apologize first," she says off her head. "WHAT! Apologize? For what?" shouts Dod exasperated. "I want you to apologize for calling me names! Then I will transfer you." Aelita replies.

Dod can't believe his ears. His anger suddenly explodes and he fires several shots at a boulder, causing it to crack and break apart. "NO! I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE TO YOU, YOU SELF-CENTERED TROLLOP!" Aelita holds the earpiece away from her ear due to the sudden increase in volume. Then Jeremie comes up with an idea and whispers it quickly to her. She nods and tenderly puts the earpiece back on. "Look who's talking. You're more self-centered than all of us put together. And don't call me that again or I'll strangle you to death by your tail!" Dod presses his lips together in anger, unable to respond. "Look, I'm having trouble with the transfer program. It seems the nerdy one they call 'Jeremie' has put on some serious security features. It's gonna take some time to crack the codes. H'cirlu, I'm not going to talk to Mister Idiot anymore. I'll talk to you instead. You seem to have better control over yourself and probably won't throw a temper tantrum," she continues.

H'cirlu sighs and glances over to an angry Dod that has walked a few feet away and has sat down sulking. "Security codes? That's new. I thought they didn't have anything like that. It's not in the memories we have," he replies. "Apparently they have added them since then. I will do what I can. So far we haven't been detected, so I should be able to work without interruption for a while. Just sit tight and _try_ to get Mister Sunshine into a better mood. If not, I'll just leave him behind and we'll have all the fun!" H'cirlu reluctantly nods and answers, "Fine. Just hurry up, ok? Master X.A.N.A. will want an update soon." "Right. I'll call back when I have something to report." Aelita says and hangs up. She takes off the headset and sets it down then lets out a heavy sigh. Jeremie smiles at her and hugs her. Odd gives her a big smile and a thumbs up. Ulrich and Yumi smile at her. "Great job, Aelita! Though, I think you enjoyed that a bit too much!" Jeremie states as she slides down from the chair and into his arms. "Well, I had to make it convincing. But, I have to admit, it was fun!" she replies and gives him a quick kiss.

Atilea looks at Ulrich from the corner of her eye. He has his hand cupped over mouth to keep her quiet and she notices that his isn't paying attention to her. She glances quickly up at Yumi and notices that she too isn't paying attention. Her eyes narrow deviously and she smiles to herself.

Suddenly Ulrich yells in surprise and jumps back away from Atilea, holding the wrist of the hand that was over her mouth. Yumi turns instantly and sees him staring in shock and disbelief at his hand. "What! What is it!" She pauses for a second and then asks angrily, "Did she bite you?" Ulrich looks up at her and replies, "No… worse. She…licked me!" Atilea bursts out laughing and Odd turns to look at Imuy, who is eyeing him. He jerks his hand away from her mouth before she can do anything. "Don't worry. I would have bitten a chuck out of your hand instead of childishly licked it! Besides, that's really gross, Atilea! I can't believe you did that!" Imuy says. Atilea just giggles and smiles at Ulrich defiantly. Ulrich takes his hand and wipes it on Atilea's leg. "Ooh, Ulrich!" she moans in mock pleasure. Ulrich jerks his hand away and glares at her angrily. Yumi shoots her an equally angry glance. "Don't flatter yourself, Atilea. I wouldn't be caught dead with you!" he states confidently. "Heh, I wasn't trying to hit on you. I was trying to make her jealous!" Atilea replies nodding toward Yumi. "And I think I succeed, too!" Yumi leans down and gets in Atilea's face. "Jealous? Of you? You're kidding, right? Look, I know where Ulrich's affection and love lies. It's gonna take a whole lot more than that to make me jealous and make me question Ulrich's trust," she says firmly. "But I warn you, if you ever flirt with him again, I'll put you in a whole world of hurt!"

Jeremie sighs and takes a seat at the computer. "At least we've bought us some time. I'm gonna need plenty of it to figure out what do to next." Imuy frowns and begins to pull against her restraints. Odd turns to look at her when he hears her grunt. "Easy there, She-Woman! You'll hurt yourself!" he quips. Imuy glowers at him and grits her teeth. "I wish you would go away!" she spits at him. "Aww, and we were getting along so well together!" he remarks sarcastically.

Jeremie studies the logs on the computer intensely as Aelita rests her arms on his shoulder. "That is the power consumption log. Have you got a plan?" she inquires. "Maybe. I'm really looking for the reason of the huge power loss when those two arrived. If I can find it, maybe I can replicate the power loss and keep them isolated to Lyoko. Of course, there is a risk that if the power loss is too great, the entire system could go down. And I don't have to tell you what that means," Jeremie replies. Aelita shakes her head and tries not to think of the consequences.

Atilea's mind races, trying to figure out a way to escape and warn Dod and H'cirlu. Then she feels an odd sensation in her abdomen. She tries to ignore it, but a sudden bubbling inside her puts a look of worry on her face. "Something's wrong with me…" she says. Jeremie and Aelita turn to look at her. "We knew that already," Ulrich replies uncaringly. "No, really, something is wrong with me! I feel…strange!" she says, becoming increasingly distressed. "Can you elaborate on 'strange'?" asks Jeremie. Atilea pauses before responding. "Um, well, for one, there is a strange bubbling in my abdomen. Then there is a pain. Not a pain like someone punched me but pain that is like…. I don't know! It's there but a soft kind of pain." Jeremie glances at Aelita. "That's almost like the way you described being hungry for the first time!" he says to her. Aelita smiles and nods. "Yes, it is. I bet she is just hungry and doesn't know it!" Atilea looks at the pair bewildered. "Hungry? Really? How do I get rid of it?" Yumi raises an eyebrow. "You eat food," she replies simply. Atilea turns to her. "Eat…food? I've never done that." "You haven't had to until you came here. No one needs to eat when they are on Lyoko," replies Jeremie. "But here, you eventually die if you don't eat." Aelita sighs and finds what she is about to say hard to do. "I guess it would be wrong not to give them something to eat. If we didn't, well, like Yumi said, there would be no difference between them and us. I'll go and get the pizza I bought for us to eat." Jeremie looks at her and nods reluctantly. "Alright. I guess I could take a rain check on our little bet. But don't think you're gonna get out of it!" Aelita looks at him in mild annoyance. "Somehow I didn't think you would let me! I'll be back in a little bit," she replies playfully. "Have Yumi go with you, just to be safe, ok?" he asks politely. She looks over at Yumi and Yumi nods with a smile. "OK, Jeremie. We will," Aelita replies and gives him a kiss on the lips. Then, the two girls leave via the maintenance hatch.

Ulrich turns and begins to watch Atilea carefully, Imuy's stomach rumbles audibly and she gets wide-eyed and red-faced. _Wow. That was almost as loud as Odd's stomach,_ Ulrich thinks to himself. Jeremie continues to pour over the power consumption logs and Odd sits facing Imuy. _If I were on Lyoko, I'd break these ropes easily! Then I would pound his goofy face in! _Imuy thinks, frowning at Odd. Another stomach rumble causes her anger to dissipate a bit and she turns red again. "Man, that's embarrassing…" she whispers to herself. Atilea squirms and tries to focus on something other than her new-found hunger. "Does hunger get any worse than this?" she asks finally. "Yes. Especially if a person goes without food for a week or so. Then it gets really bad. But if hunger goes unsatisfied over a long period of time, then the body starts, well, digesting itself," replies Jeremie, not looking away from the monitor. "Yikes…." Atilea whispers and pulls her knees to her chin.

A couple of quiet minutes later, Jeremie shakes his head and slides out of the chair. "Hey, I have to run down to the scanner room real quick. Do you two think you can handle it here?" he asks Ulrich and Odd. The two turn and nod. Atilea finds herself staring at Jeremie as he leaves. She shakes her head and glances around the room, trying to find something else to put her mind on. Ulrich sighs and squats down but keeps a watchful eye on her. Imuy has adopted the philosophy of "out of sight, out of mind" with Odd by keeping her eyes tightly closed as not to look at him. Odd begins to feel hungry himself and wishes that he hadn't left Sam to finish eating alone. Then an idea pops into his head and he pulls out his cell phone. Odd scoots to the opposing wall and begins to dial Sam's number.

Ulrich raises an eyebrow has he watches Odd. "Odd, you're supposed to be watching her…" Ulrich warns. Odd nods and points his finger from his eye to Imuy. Ulrich shakes his head slightly and turns back to Atilea. She has straightened her legs out again and is fidgeting with her skirt hem. Then, Ulrich hears Jeremie coming back and turns to see him enter the room, his face beaming. "I take it that you've made an important discovery," Ulrich speculates. Jeremie nods and retakes his seat at the computer. "Oh, yes. I'm going to run a couple of simulations first to make sure I'm right before actually putting what I discovered into practice," he replies as he starts typing away at the keyboard. Ulrich smiles slightly and relaxes a bit. He glances back over at Odd who is whispering into his phone, trying to keep his conversation private.

"No! Seriously! I am fine! Just… still hungry," he says a little louder than he intended and realizes everyone except Jeremie is looking at him. He frowns and covers the receiver end of the phone. "Hey! Would you guys mind not listening in, please?" "You're the one sharing with us, Odd," states Imuy. Odd gives a restrained smile and then says into the phone, "Sorry about that. I have some eavesdroppers in the room. Can I give you a call back later, Sam?"

Then, the maintenance door opens and Aelita and Yumi enter carrying two large pizza boxes. The aroma of the pizza fills Odd's nose and his stomach rumbles. "Is that…. pepperoni?" he asks as his mouth begins to water. Jeremie perks up and turns to stare hard at him. "The pepperoni is MINE. You can't have any!" he informs harshly. Odd looks at him perplexed then nods and remains silent. "Jeremie Belpois! That wasn't very nice!" scolds Aelita giving him a hard look. "Then you don't remember what happened last time we had pepperoni pizza with him around!" retorts Jeremie. "Still, that's no excuse to be rude!" she chides back at him. Jeremie snorts softly and turns back to the monitor and begins to sulk. "Now, now, children. Let's not fight. I'm sure there's plenty for everyone," Yumi says in a motherly fashion and sets the pizza boxes on the edge on the hologram display in the center of the room. "I'm not hungry, so that means someone will get to have my share." She opens the boxes and Aelita opens the package of paper plates and napkins. "Are you going to eat any, Babe?" Yumi asks Ulrich. He shakes his head no and replies, "I'm not hungry either. Your ham and turkey filled me up nicely, Dear." Atilea gets a disgusted look on her face. "Ok, would you two refrain from talking like that? It's ruining my appetite!" Ulrich looks at her quizzically. "This is the first appetite you've ever had. How would you know if it's being ruined or not?" he asks. "Because you two are making me sick with all the 'babes' and 'dears' and other _blecchh_ stuff!" she replies frowning. Ulrich blinks in mild bewilderment and responds, "Oh, yeah. You're also an expert in that sort of stuff too, I suppose. Despite having absolutely no experience in that field. You'll note that I'm not including your violation of Jeremie or your weak attempt at flirting with me." Atilea stares at him with a mild wounded look on her face for a moment before responding. "You can be a very harsh person, Ulrich. Even when you don't sound like you are being harsh. Did you know that?"

Yumi hands her a plate with a slice of pizza on it and the smell of it catches her attention. She looks at her wrists and at the rope that binds them together. "I don't suppose you could untie me for this?" she asks in fake-hope. "No," Yumi simply. "Didn't think so. But it didn't hurt to ask, though." Atilea takes the plate and napkin then looks at the pizza skeptically. "Um, wh-what is this?" "Pizza. Bon Appétit," Ulrich replies. She gingerly picks up the slice and regards it curiously. "I know the word 'pizza' but this isn't what I had in mind when I envisioned what it was." "Just eat it," Odd says carrying four slices back to where he was sitting on the floor. Imuy pokes the single slice of pepperoni pizza on her plate and grease oozes out the sides. "You people eat _this_ every day?" she asks baffled. "No, it's just a quick, cheap, and filling meal usually eaten when time doesn't allow a full course meal," replies Jeremie sliding down from the chair. Aelita gives him a questionable look. "Are you saying that I was being cheap when I bought this for you today?" she asks, crossing her arms. Jeremie turns pink and shakes his head. "No, I saying that as a general fact. Not as a statement toward you!" "Diggin-a-hole! Diggin-a-hole!" Odd says quickly, slurring his words together. Jeremie glances at him and turns redder. "In fact, I wouldn't have cared if all I _did_ get was bread and water. You would have been the one who made the lunch for me, and I enjoy anything you make for me," he says, trying to smooth things over. Aelita looks at him, unconvinced. "Jeremie, how many times have I told you to stick to the truth?" she asks. He pauses for a second, then replies, "Ok, the truth. The truth is I'm sorry for barking at Odd and arguing with you. Also, I love you and my life, therefore I'm going to get a _single_ slice of pizza, return to my chair obediently, and eat it quietly because I know I'm in trouble." Aelita gives him a strained smile and nods. "Yes, you are!" she replies quietly.

Odd snickers and finishes swallowing a bite. "Coming this summer, to a theater near you: 'When Geniuses Collide'!" he says like a voiceover on a movie trailer.

Aelita turns her head slowly around to look at him. "Odd,"

He looks up at her with an innocent smile on his face. "Hmm?"

"Eat your pizza and be quiet."

"Yes, Ma'am!" he replies with the smile plastered to his face and takes another bite.

Jeremie takes a seat in the computer chair and sets his plate down in his lap then begins to type away at the keyboard. Atilea swallows a bite and licks crust crumbs off her lips. "Mmm! This is good!" she says happily. "Better get your fill now. It's probably going to be the last you'll ever have," Ulrich states seriously. Atilea looks up at him and blinks in confusion. "Why do you say that?" she asks wiping her mouth with her napkin. "Think about it. You two were obviously sent here to hack into the computer, materialize the other two twins, and remove the first Seal on X.A.N.A. Once the Seal is gone, he'd escape out here and begin taking over the world again. That includes all the places that make pizza. Do you really think he'd spare a pizza place just for you?" he replies crossing his arms.

She looks at him blankly. "Maybe…"

"Have you even thought about what is going to happen when he does escape?" Ulrich inquires.

"Uh, no. But that doesn't mean anything! I'm sure Master X.A.N.A. has great plans for us!" Atilea replies confidently.

"Really? Have you asked him? Probably not. The way I see it, you were created only to free him. Once you've done that, then your usefulness is over. What then?"

Atilea shakes her head, not wanting to hear anymore. For some unknown reason, his words pierce her heart and she tries to block out the affect his words are having on her by rolling over in her mind the things her Master has spoken to her about loyalty and trust. "No! Stop! Don't say anything more!" she bellows out.

"We've known X.A.N.A. a lot longer than you and we know what he is truly like! He doesn't care about anything except total world domination. To him, you are nothing more than pawns in his game. To him, your _master_, you're expendable!"

"SHUT UP!" Atilea explodes at him, tears streaming down her face. "You're wrong! Master X.A.N.A. cares for us! He even calls us his children! He wouldn't just dispose of us like we're garbage!"

Ulrich leans in closer to her. "How do you know? Has he told you he wouldn't?"

"No, but he hasn't said he would, either!" Imuy counters, fighting back her own tears. She never expected to lose control like Atilea did, but she wasn't going to give in to them. She'd fight these strange emotions that have suddenly gripped her.

"So, you really don't have a guarantee either way, do you? You'd think if X.A.N.A. really cared for you as much as you claim, he would have told you, right?" Ulrich follows up without missing a beat.

Imuy shakes her head, glaring at him. "Stop trying to be all philosophical with me! You won't shake MY loyalty!"

Atilea puts her head down on her knees and trembles, not understanding how Ulrich's words could shake her belief in her Master. She'd never questioned him before; only obeyed willingly. But, now, X.A.N.A. wasn't here to speak to her. "What" Her tears choke her up briefly. "What have you done to me!" she asks him, lifting her tear-dampened face to look into his eyes.

Ulrich sighs and leans back away from her. "Nothing. I just asked the questions that you seem to have never asked yourselves or X.A.N.A.," he replies calmly. Jeremie pauses his work and peers around the monitor at them. "Interesting…" he mumbles to himself.

"There is one thing I'm curious about. Are the emotions you've displayed, the sadness, the apparent caring, and the happiness, is it real or all a big act? I know the anger, hatred, and apathy is real enough, based on what you and the other twins did to us on Lyoko. But, what about the rest? Surely X.A.N.A wouldn't have allowed emotions to be present in you that would potentially turn you against him. Like, love, for instance. You never really responded one way or the other when Jeremie said that those types of emotions had been stripped away."

Atilea looks directly into his eyes. "You want to know about what emotions I feel? Here's one: loneliness. Despite the fact that Imuy is here with me, I still feel lonely. When I was on Lyoko, I could feel Master X.A.N.A.'s presence. It never left me. I could always count on it being there when I would awaken and emerge from my pod after resting periods." She wipes the tear trails from her cheeks. "But now, it's gone. This is the first time ever to have my Master's presence removed from me. I can't feel his presence or hear his voice and that makes me feel all alone." Atilea turns to look up at Aelita. "And if you want the truth, having this void scares me!"

Aelita gasps as she can see in her twin's eyes that she is telling the truth and, for the first time, she sees true fear in her eyes.

"Atilea! Get a grip! You are a child of the Almighty X.A.N.A.! You are not supposed to be afraid! Especially since you are the one who can create huge boulders!" pipes up an angry Imuy. "I can't _believe_ that you are acting this way! They are only messing with your mind!"

Atilea turns and looks at her. "If you haven't noticed yet, my hands are _tied_! I couldn't create a pebble if I wanted to! Besides, I tried to create something before we came here to the control room, but I failed! Apparently, that ability was left back in Lyoko! Unlike you, who was able to bring one of your tessen fans here. A lot of good it did you, though. Yumi stole it from you!"

Imuy bites her lower lip to keep herself from exploding in anger at her sister. Odd looks at her in mild disgust. "'Almighty X.A.N.A.'? You're kidding, right?" he asks skeptically. "I mean, if he was really almighty, would he let himself get partially sealed back in Lyoko?"

Imuy turns and glares at him angrily. "How _dare_ you….!" she angrily says, barely able to get the words out amidst her anger. She stops and looks at her sister. "No! They're pitting us against each other, Atilea! Divide and conquer!" she exclaims wildly. Atilea looks back at her blankly.

"Yeah, right! You just don't want to admit to feeling scared also!" Odd quips. Imuy turns and looks at him with a wild look in her eye. "Feelings? You want to know about my feelings! Fine! I hate all of you! Especially you, Odd! Including that stupid dog of yours!" Imuy explodes angrily.

Odd narrows his eyes at her. "Hey, you watch what you say about Kiwi!" he warns harshly.

"And Samantha, that ghetto tramp girlfriend of yours!", she continues. "Imuy, don't," cautions Atilea as she sees Odd's face become beet red with rage.

"I've never smelled Kiwi personally, but according to the memories from Yumi that I have, he smells terrible! Like rotten eggs!" Imuy spouts.

Then, something inside Odd's mind snapped. Almost instantly after she finished her sentence, Odd pounced on her with fists flying, knocking her over with his sudden lunge. He straddles her and she screams in surprise and tries to cover her face with her bound arms. Jeremie and Ulrich dive towards him the instant they see him attack Imuy. He manages to get one good punch to the face before Ulrich and Jeremie pull him off her. Even as they pull him off, Odd tries to hit her. Ulrich and Jeremie wrestles him down on his stomach and Ulrich manages to pin his arms but not before Odd elbows him in the cheek. Ulrich finally immobilizes him and nods to Jeremie to let him know he has Odd securely. Jeremie stands, breathing hard, and Aelita and Yumi rush to Imuy to see what kind of damage Odd did to her. Atilea stares at the scene, horrified.

"ODD! CALM DOWN!" Ulrich shouts at Odd.

"ARRGH! Get off me, Ulrich! I'll kill her!" he screams back.

"NO, YOU"RE NOT!" Ulrich responds, shoving more of his weight onto Odd's head, pressing it harder on the cold, metallic floor.

Yumi and Aelita gingerly helps a bawling Imuy sit up and wipes a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth with a napkin. Imuy shoves Yumi away hard when she realizes who is touching her. "GET AWAY FROM ME! DON'T TOUCH ME!" bellows Imuy and curls into a ball, then rolls onto her side, sobbing. Aelita stands and backs away from Imuy; her own eyes threatening to unleash tears of their own. Jeremie walks up behind Aelita and gently wraps an arm around her waist, then guides her to the other side of the room. There, she turns into him and buries her head in his chest, crying. Yumi slide backward on the floor then sees Ulrich finally succeed in calmly Odd down just a little bit.

"She—she insulted Kiwi—and—and Sam!" Odd stammers and closes his eyes tightly.

"Odd, I know…" Ulrich consoles as best as he can while still trying to hold Odd in place. "…and it was wrong of her to say those things, but it was also a very bad thing to attack her like that! Possibly worse!"

Then, a wave of realization washes over Odd's face and he relaxes more. "Ulrich, what have I done?" he asks remorseful. Ulrich looks into his friend's eyes and sees that his rage has abated somewhat. He can see that Odd is contrite about what he did to Imuy but the underlying disdain for her and the other twins still remains.

"Um, you're kinda heavy, Ulrich," Odd says, trying to get a descent breath. Ulrich relaxes his grip and Odd inhales deeper. "No offense," he says meekly. Ulrich waves off the comment with a simple nod of the head.

"Can I get up now?" Odd asks weakly. Ulrich pauses and considers his request. "Depends. Will you keep calm?" Odd frowns in guilt and nods as best as he can. "Yeah. I—I'm sorry. Really." Ulrich sighs and glances at Imuy, who is still in a ball crying, then over at Yumi, who is hugging her knees and watching them.

"Ok, Odd. But don't do anything like that again. I don't want to have to hurt you," Ulrich says and rolls off of him. Odd sits up and hangs his head sorrowfully.

"Ulrich?" asks Odd.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"Could you not tell Sam what happened? I—I want to be the one to tell her…."

"Tell her what? That you attacked a clone of Yumi?" Ulrich asks.

Odd realizes what Ulrich is saying. "Yeah, I guess it would be hard to explain… never mind. Thanks anyway." Ulrich gently places his hand on Odd's shoulder. Odd gives him a very weak smile and continues, "I think I'd better leave before I do something else wrong…" Before anyone can say anything, he stands and heads toward the maintenance door.

"Ok, that officially got out of hand," Jeremie says after a long pause. He sighs and gently runs his fingertips up and down Aelita's back, trying to soothe her. "I was hoping to run another simulation before implementing my plan, but it looks as if I'm just gonna have to chance it." Ulrich crawls over to Yumi and she gives him a gentle hug and kiss. She stands and wipes her nose with her napkin. Ulrich then looks over at Atilea. She has a blank stare on her face and the tear tracks have reappeared, but it seems as if her eyes have run out of tears. He glances up at Yumi and sees her begin to clean up the pizza that was send flying everywhere when Odd snapped. He sighs and slides over to Atilea. Ulrich gently touches her thigh, but she doesn't respond.

"Atilea?" he whispers to her.

No response.

"Hey, Atilea, are you alright?"

She finally moves her eyes to look at him, and he sees no emotion in them. "Atilea…?"

Her mouth opens as if to speak, but no words come out. Then a look of sheer loneliness creeps onto her face.

"I'm sorry for what Odd did. That was way out of line, even for him," Ulrich says apologetically to her.

Jeremie, who has since reseated himself at the computer, turns to him and says, "Ulrich, I'm ready to begin."

Atilea finds her hand sliding toward Ulrich's and closes her eyes. "It wasn't you, Ulrich, so you don't have to apologize." She opens her eyes and looks at Jeremie. "Let me guess, you're going to send us both back and you've also found a way to keep us there." Jeremie presses his lips together and replies, "Yes, I have." Atilea's hand finally reaches Ulrich's and he jerks slightly in surprise. "Ulrich, I don't know what will happen the next time we all meet. X.A.N.A. may have my memory…. altered so I won't remember what has happened here, but I want you to know this," she says softly. Yumi turns and watches her carefully. "You're words cut me deeply, but I know now what you were trying to do. You were only trying to open my eyes to what X.A.N.A. really is. I can't hide anything from him when I'm on Lyoko. X.A.N.A. has some sort of telepathic link with each of us while we are there and it is apparent that the link is severed when we are here. Therefore, the moment I return, he will know everything that transpired, including the nifty little ruse Aelita pulled on Dod. I may not be this pleasant ever again, so I have a few things to say before Jeremie sends us back."

Ulrich pulls back and sits on his legs, regarding her with curiosity. Jeremie glances at the screen and shakes his head slightly. "Well, better make it quick. If the remaining two twins figure out that something is wrong, X.A.N.A. may try sending one or both of them here." Atilea glances up at him and nods.

"First off, I want to thank you four for being so kind to an enemy. You've truly shown that you are better than us. I probably will miss pizza, at least until my master rewrites my memory. Jeremie, I'm sorry for kissing and choking you. Aelita, I hope you can forgive me. Yumi, I can see a small piece of the reason why you love Ulrich so much. This may not mean much, but take care of him. Ulrich, tell Odd I'm sorry for Imuy's behavior. She's usually more in control than that. And finally," She pauses to swallow to moisturize her throat. "I have a rather off the wall request."

Ulrich raises an eyebrow, trying to guess what it could be. "Ok… what is it?"

"I… I want to see this world that you so passionately protect and defend."

Jeremie's jaw drops open in shock. Ulrich nearly falls backward and Yumi drops the plateful of pizza scraps on the floor. Aelita stares in shock at her twin, speechless. "You… what?" Ulrich finally asks. Atilea glances around the room at all of them. "I want to see and understand why you protect this world so avidly. If that is a problem…."

"Yes, it is! For one, to the rest of the world, there is only one Aelita. Should someone see you two together…" Jeremie starts. He shakes his head, unable to finish due to the numerous potential results of that situation flooding his mind.

"Well, then either take me some place where there aren't any people or Aelita can stay here and Ulrich and Yumi escorts me. Or the third option, do both," Atilea replies logically. "Besides, I'm not asking for hours on end out there. Just five, ten minutes."

Jeremie shakes his head. "No, this is a bad idea…." Ulrich rubs his forehead. "Jeremie, if you were to implement your plan now, what would be the percent chance of success?" he asks. Jeremie blinks in thought. "Roughly 42.3 percent," he replies. "Ok, after, say ten minutes of you tweaking it, what would it go up to?" Ulrich inquires. Jeremie chuckles and rubs his temple. "Heh, not as much as I would if I had a couple more hours. Say, around 46 to 48 percent. That is, if all goes well." Ulrich nods and replies, "I like 46 better than 42. Me, personally, I think we should allow her to go. My opinion, but I'm willing to do it. We just pop up in the forest for a few minutes, just enough for her to get in a few nature scenes, then pop back down. Now, I think both Yumi and I should agree to do this. If Yumi doesn't want to go, then we don't go, period. End of story. But if we go, Jeremie gets ten more minutes of uninterrupted work time to tweak his plan and the chances of success go up."

Jeremie sighs and runs his hand down his face. "Why do I get the feeling that I'm in an episode of MythBusters and that things are going to go badly?" Atilea looks over at Yumi and says, "Well, it's really up to Yumi. I don't think I can say or do anything to sway her, but I will say this, I would really like to go and I will behave." Jeremie frowns sternly and looks at the trio. "No. We can't risk taking her up there. She could escape and do who knows what. Besides, I need Aelita to help me set this up. Who will watch Imuy?"

By this time, Imuy has sat up and dried her tears. She watched as the four deliberated over what to do. "Fine. Then Yumi can take me by herself and Ulrich can stay here and watch Imuy," suggests Atilea.

"No! No one is going anywhere! Atilea, you have a mission and I order you to carry it out!" blasts Imuy. Everyone turns and stares at her shocked. Then Atilea breaks the silence. "No. I don't take orders from you. I take orders from only two people; Master X.A.N.A. and me! Now, I want to take a look at the world we're going to destroy with my own eyes instead of seeing it through the eyes of someone else's memories! Maybe you don't care about that, but I do!"

Imuy snorts in disdain at her and grows silent. "Fine. Do what you want. But when we get back, Master X.A.N.A. will hear of you blatant insubordination!" she says finally. Atilea narrows her eyes and glares at her with painful realization. "Hey! You don't have to say anything to him! He will know when I get back! Did you forget that he can tap into our minds at will in Lyoko?" Imuy looks away from her sister's gaze and remains silent.

Aelita turns to Jeremie and gently touches his hand. "Let her go, Jeremie. I can watch Imuy. You really don't need me to help. I'd just be in the way," Jeremie turns to look at her, slightly appalled. "Aelita…!" he starts but then stops himself when he sees the serious look on her face. "Ulrich, you and Yumi take Atilea up to the surface. We will be fine." Ulrich starts to say something but a stern look from Aelita stops him. He sighs and replies, "Fine. But be careful, both of you." And with that, he and Yumi help Atilea stand. Yumi pulls out the confiscated tessen fan and cuts the rope around Atilea's ankles. "I hope you know what you're doing, Ulrich. I want it on the record that I said that this is a very bad idea and that something could go wrong!" Jeremie says shaking his head while staring at the monitor.

Ulrich glances over at him quickly and replies, "Yes, Jeremie, we know how you feel about this. But don't worry. Yumi and I can handle ourselves. We'll be back soon." Then, the trio heads for the door with a disagreeing Jeremie watching them go. Aelita gently pats his hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "They'll be alright, you know that. Just relax and tweak your plan, ok, Babe?" she whispers to him. "I know, but it's too risky! Way to risky!" he replies. She gives him a reassuring smile and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Well, just work your magic on the computer, Dear. I'm going to have a girl-to-girl talk with Imuy," Jeremie turns, slightly befuddled, to watch her walk over to Imuy.

Ulrich opens the steel door at the top of the staircase leading from the cellar that connects to the sewers. As the trio step into the fresh air, Atilea blinks in the brightness of the sun. Yumi glances around and sees puddles of water dotting the area, then looks up at the sky to see gray clouds beginning to dissipate. "Looks like it rained a bit," she says. Atilea glances around the area and blinks in awe, trying to take it all in. "The colors; they're so vibrant! And the smell of the air…" She inhales deeply, drawing in the air through her nostrils. "…so many fragrances!" She spots the puddles and regards them inquisitively. Suddenly, a memory from Aelita hits her. She sees Aelita and Jeremie walking in the rain. The two are laughing and genuinely enjoying themselves. Then, Aelita and Jeremie come across a large puddle and she sees Aelita jump in it, causing the water to splash up on Jeremie. He laughs deviously and jumps in the puddle, splashing Aelita back. The two continue to do this until the puddle in nearly empty, despite the rain trying to refill it.

Atilea smiles and rushes over to a puddle. Ulrich and Yumi instantly follows her, unsure of what she is doing. Atilea leaps up and lands right in the middle of the puddle, splashing a shocked Ulrich and Yumi. The two gasp as the cold water soaks through their pant legs on to their skin. Atilea giggles happily and watches as the water runs back around her feet. She looks up to see Ulrich and Yumi staring at her totally confused. "Eeewww!" Yumi exclaims. Ulrich sees Yumi bend down and pull her pant legs away from her shins and try to brush away the dirt left behind from the water. Ulrich can't help but chuckle and Yumi looks up at him sharply. Atilea lets out a laugh and jumps again, causing Yumi to jump backwards, trying to avoid the water. Ulrich just lets the water hit him, knowing that it won't make a difference if he tried to move. Yumi presses her lips together tightly and glares at him. "Would you do something besides stand there like an idiot?" she asks him. Ulrich gives her a playful hurt look and shrugs. "What do you want me to do? Jump in after her? She's not going to drown!" Yumi shoots him a harsh glance. "That's not what I mean and you know it! Get her out of the puddle!" "Why do I have to get her out of the puddle? Why can't you get her out of the puddle?" he retorts playfully. Yumi glances around, trying to form an excuse. "Well, because your pants are wetter than mine and it won't make any difference!" Ulrich chuckles disbelieving and turns to see Atilea laughing at them.

"Enjoying yourself?" he asks Atilea. She stops laughing and smiles at him, nodding. "Yes! This is fun!" She steps out of the puddle and turns to take in the tree line that is surrounding the area. "See, she got out of the puddle all by herself!" Ulrich says to Yumi. Yumi gives him a slightly miffed look and sticks her tongue out at him. "Where are we?" Atilea asks, finally noticing the large house behind them. Ulrich smiles and replies, "I'll show you!" He takes the lead and guides her and Yumi to the front. Atilea regards the overgrown picket fence curiously and sees a sign hanging on the opposite side. Ulrich walks over to the old gate and swings it open. The trio walks out and Atilea looks up at the two story house in awe. "Wow…"she says, studying the exterior intently, taking in the historical beauty of the old house. Then, she looks down at the sign, which is covered by overgrown ivy and tilts her head to try and read it.

"The… Hermitage?" she says curiously, just above a whisper. "Isn't that…..?" she starts but stops when various memories begin to replay in her mind. "Yes, it is. This is where Aelita lived before she was sent to Lyoko for the very first time," Yumi states. Then, Atilea's wonder turns to sadness. "I have all these memories of this place, but none of them are mine. I… don't have any memories of a childhood that is my own…." she says sadly and looks at the ground. "Or real parents…." Atilea then looks up at the house and turns to Ulrich and Yumi. "Can I go inside?" Ulrich glances at Yumi and she shrugs. "Um, I guess it wouldn't hurt for a minute or two. We'll have to start back to the factory soon," he replies.

The trio heads toward the front door. Suddenly, Atilea feels a pain in her head and groans. Ulrich opens the door and turns to look at her. "Are you ok?" he asks. Atilea shakes her head. "Yeah, I think so. Let's go on in." As they enter the living room, Atilea glances around the room. Books, papers, and dust balls litter the room. "Man, someone needs to clean this place up," she states running her finger through the thick layer of dust on a nearby table. "Well, we had planned on doing that once X.A.N.A. was gone for good…" Ulrich replies. Atilea glances at him blankly and wipes her finger on her skirt. Then, more memories surface and Atilea feels the pain in her head return. She grabs her forehead and stumbles slightly. Yumi catches her and asks, "Hey, what's wrong?" Atilea shakes her head. "I.. don't know. Memories from Aelita's past keep resurfacing and replaying in my mind!"

Suddenly, Atilea convulses and falls to the floor hard. Yumi gasps and reaches for her, but Atilea's extremities begin to shake and her eyes roll back into her head. "Atilea!" Yumi shouts. Ulrich quickly pulls out his phone and starts to dial Jeremie's number, but stops when Atilea begins to speak.

"MOMMY!" Atilea shouts and begins to cry like a small child, still in her convulsive trance. Yumi and Ulrich turn to each other in astonishment.

"DON'T LEAVE ME, MOMMY! MOMMY!"


	7. Defection

_**Disclaimer: **If I only did have a smidgen of ownership…but I can dream…._

_I don't have much of a summary for this chapter. It's not that intense but there are a couple of twists and things in it. You'll just have to read it. But, get ready for the next chapter! All I'm going to say is that it's going to be intense!_

**Code: Lyoko **

**Mirror, Mirror **

**Part VI: Defection**

Sam brushes one of the red colored strands of her hair behind her ear and gazes at the saddened boy that is walking towards her. She knew something was wrong when he called, despite his apparent happiness. He was terrible at hiding his true feelings, she recalls and smiles softly at his when he sees her. Odd returns the smiles weakly and she senses that something has bothered him personally. He drops his head slightly and she notices that he's not looking directly at her face.

"Odd? Are you ok?" she asks caringly.

Odd pauses briefly and fidgets slightly before replying, "Not really."

Then Sam does something she hasn't done in what seems like ages. She steps close to him and gently wraps her arms around him, pulling him into her hug tightly. Odd looks up in surprise, but then hugs her back. The two separate and look at each other, slightly embarrassed.

"You looked like you needed that," Sam says, brushing the same strand of dyed hair back behind her ear again.

Odd smiles and nods. "You have no idea how much I needed that. Thanks, Sam. I owe you," he replies gratefully.

Sam chuckles slightly and waves the comment off. "Maybe. We'll see. So, what's wrong?" Odd sighs and rubs his eyes. "I… did something bad. So bad that Ulrich and Jeremie had to restrain me," he replies.

Sam looks at him, hardly believing her ears. "What? What did you do?"

Odd turns his head away from her. "I… can't really tell you, but just know that my temper definitely got the better of me."

"Can't or won't tell me? Odd, you know that you can tell me anything," she states crossing her arms. "Tell me, please."

Odd shakes his head. "I _can't_, not _won't_. Mainly because you wouldn't believe me." Sam looks at him skeptically. "What did you do? Kidnap the Prime Minister's daughter? Hold up a bank?"

Odd frowns and turns around away from her. "No, nothing like that. I… let someone mess with my mind so much that I just snapped. Please, Sam, I can't tell you anymore than that so please don't pry anymore."

Sam grabs his shoulder and turns him around to look in his eyes. "Do…. you not trust me still?" she asks with a bit of worry in her voice. Odd's face softens and he smiles tenderly then gently touches her cheek with his hand. She freezes for a second but then recovers when he begins to rub her cheek with his thumb.

"No, that's not it. I do trust you, Sam. It's just that this is something that I have to deal with myself," he replies reassuringly. "And, if I tell you, your life could be in danger."

Sam gets a frightened look on her face. "Odd, you're scaring me. What's going on? What are you mixed up in? Please tell me you haven't picked up any of my old habits…"

Odd smiles and gently rests his hands on her shoulders. "No, nothing like that. I will tell you eventually, when this is all over… for good." Sam turns her head slightly. "When what is over? You're not making much sense, even more than usual."

He chuckles and slides his hands up to the cheeks. "I promise to tell you when it is over. I'll tell you everything. Everything from where I go when one of my friends calls me to what happened today. Just, be patient, ok?"

She frowns slightly in disappointment, but she sees the sincerity in his eyes. "Ok, Odd. Anything you say. But I will hold you to your promise, so don't even try to weasel out of it!" Odd gives her a big smile and replies, "I won't dream of weaseling out of it! I know you too well!" Sam gives him a commanding smile at this and places her hands on his sides. The two pause and stare into each other's eyes.

"Um, Sam?"

"Yes, Odd?"

"Are we….you know?"

"Uh, well…"

"I… promise to be more considerate this time around…"

"I don't know, Odd. It's tempting, but I don't know if I'm ready yet. No offense," Sam states dropping her hands and stepping backwards away from him. "And please don't think I'm leading you on right now, because I'm not. I saw that a good friend needed some help."

Odd smiles at her and nods. "Hey, don't sweat it. I understand. But I just want you to know that when you are ready…. I will be better. Promise."

Sam sighs and returns the smile. "Say, why don't you go and talk to Ulrich and try to straighten things out there? Then you can come by my place and we can work on that music vid."

Odd pauses for a second and then his smile grows. "Sure. I'll give you a call when I'm done." He turns and starts to leave but stops himself. "Oh, Sam?"

"Yes, Odd? What is it?"

"Thanks for being a friend. I owe you, big time! See ya later!" he says cheerily and waves. She waves back at him and Odd takes off. Sam sighs to herself and wonders how life with him again would be. She glances at her watch and realizes that she's going to be late returning the books she checked out of the library.

The Hermitage 

Yumi and Ulrich watch helplessly as Atilea spasms again. "MOMMY! WHERE ARE YOU, MOMMY!" Atilea screams again. Then, she partially regains control. "Yumi….! My….head! Hurts! Help…." Atilea screams with pain and clutches her head as best as she can with her wrists tied in the rope.

Yumi kneels down to her and tries to sit her up. "Ulrich, we've got to get her out of here!"

Ulrich snaps back to reality and kneels down on the opposite side of Atilea. "It would be easier if her hands were free."

Yumi glances at him. "Ulrich, I don't know…." A yelp of pain from Atilea cuts her off. "…but you are right." Yumi gently holds Atilea's wrist and opens the tessen fan. She grits her teeth as she tries to cut the rope without slicing Atilea's wrists, but Atilea's almost constant jerking makes it difficult to do. Yumi finally manages to free her and she and Ulrich each take and arm to wrap around their necks. Then, they gently lift her off the floor and start towards the door.

"Geez, she's heavy…" states Ulrich as he reaches for the door knob.

"I…. heard…. that!" says Atilea gently slapping his shoulder. Yumi shakes her head. "You should know better than to say anything about a girl's weight!" she reprimands playfully once they exit the Hermitage. Ulrich blushes and smiles guiltily. "Sorry," he states to Atilea quietly.

The two carry Atilea to the yard and gently lays her down in the grass. She runs her hands to the top of her head and closes her eyes. Tear tracks are visible on her soft cheeks that are slightly red from her crying. She sniffs and wipes her eyes with one hand, then opens her eyes to look at the couple beside her. She begins to tremble and Yumi hesitantly rubs her back gently.

Ulrich swallows nervously. "What….happened?" "Yeah, you were calling out to 'mommy'," Yumi chimes in.

Atilea leans gently into Yumi and looks at him. She starts to say something, but stops. "I… don't want to say anything about the memories unless Aelita says it is ok to. Please, understand this. They are hers, after all," Atilea says after a brief pause.

Ulrich nods in understanding and begins to wonder what memories Aelita is hiding that could cause so much pain. Or was it pain just to Atilea because she doesn't truly have a mother? Whatever it was, it seemed to have subsided when they bought Atilea outside.

Then a memory flashes gently in Atilea's mind and she closes her eyes. Ulrich and Yumi notice her jerk slightly and brace themselves for another possible memory-attack, but Atilea just tilts her head slightly toward Ulrich and a questionable look appears on her face. Finally, she opens her eyes and looks up to the second story of the Hermitage. Ulrich and Yumi follow her gaze and wonders what is up there that has caught Atilea's attention.

"There's something up there, on the second floor. Something that belongs to Aelita. Something precious to her, but she may have forgotten that it is up there," Atilea says almost dreamily. Yumi side glances at her and asks, "What is it?" Atilea blinks, trying to make sense of the memory.

"I'm not sure. The memory is only a fragment, but I have a strong sensation that it is something valuable to her. Could you get it for her, Yumi? I'll tell you where it is. And, honestly, I don't want to go back in there. Those memories may come back and make my head hurt again," she replies giving Yumi a worried look.

Yumi glances over to Ulrich and he shrugs, not knowing what to say. Yumi ponders the request for a moment and finally agrees.

Atilea smiles at her gratefully and gives her a gentle hug that causes Yumi to freeze in uncertainty. "Thank you, Yumi! I appreciate it!" she says thankfully.

"Oooo-kay… Um, what is it that you want me to get?" Yumi asks unsure of how to react to her sudden friendliness. Atilea leans away from her and points to the second window on the second floor. "There, in that room, is a small, silver and pink metal box stuffed in the back of a closet. That's what I'd like for you to get for Aelita. There should be a key for the lock on the box also, but it's in a dresser drawer somewhere in the room. Hopefully, it's still in the same place as it is in the memory."

Yumi nods and stands, brushing the grass off her behind and the back of her legs. Ulrich smiles to himself as he watches his girlfriend lean over and tie her boot string. He finds his eyes wandering over her body and shakes his head slightly to clear it. "Yumi, be careful. We don't know what kind of condition the upper floors are in. You could fall through the floor and get hurt!" he cautions.

His girlfriend looks over to him and sees the look of concern on his face. She smiles softly and leans up, motioning him to come to her. He stands and steps over to her. "I will, Ulrich. Don't worry so much about me," Yumi says reassuringly. Ulrich gently places his hands on her waist and smiles at her. "I know, but I can't help it. It's just that if anything happened to you…." he says trailing off. Yumi kisses his lips and brushes a strand of his hair out of his eyes. "I will be careful. Promise. Just be careful out here, ok?" she says caringly. He nods in agreement and the couple kisses once more, then Yumi heads back into the Hermitage.

"Oh, wait, Yumi!" pipes up Atilea. Yumi turns back around to her just as she is about to enter the old house. "Yes?" Atilea fidgets slightly. "Don't open the box when you find it, ok? It means a lot to Aelita and I'd feel terrible if something very private and personal to her were violated….um, even more than it already has been. You know, since we _twins_ were created and everything. Just promise me that you won't open it. I want Aelita to be the one to open it and to decide to share it." Yumi blinks and nods slowly, then turns and enters the building.

Ulrich watches as the door closes behind Yumi and then turns to look at Atilea. "How are you feeling?" he asks after a brief pause. She looks up at him and smiles slightly. "Better. The sharp pains have stopped but my head still throbs a little." He walks back over next to her and sits down, crossing his legs Indian-style. She looks at him, nervously.

"Ulrich?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"This. Taking me up here to see all this wonderful stuff."

He looks at her slightly dubious and sees her eyes begin to well up with tears again.

"Thank you, Ulrich, for being so honest with me."

"Um, you're….welcome."

She scoots closer to him and gently leans against his shoulder. Ulrich grows wide-eyed and is unsure how to respond.

"You may not believe me when I say this, but I consider you a friend, despite the fact that we are supposed to be enemies. You've done a lot for Aelita in the past and I know how much she values your friendship," Atilea says and gives him a slight hug with one arm, causing him to freeze.

"Yumi is one lucky woman to have you as a boyfriend," she continues, dropping her arm from his back at the same time she runs her hand across his back. Ulrich blushes and nods. "I'm lucky to have her. I don't know how many times we nearly lost each other to someone else."

Atilea smiles at him, a look of longing in her eyes. She turns away, just as a tear escapes her eye. A long pause takes place and Atilea scoots away from him and turns her attention to a dandelion blossom nearby. She leans over and picks the small, yellow flower and holds it up in front of her, admiring its beauty, with an almost child-like manner.

"This is a… dandelion, right?" she asks without looking away from the flower.

"Yeah, it is," Ulrich replies watching her gently rotate the blossom between her thumb and forefinger.

"This was Aelita's favorite flower when she was four years old," Atilea states as gentle memories begin to form in her mind.

"Well, it's not really a flower. It's more of a weed…." Ulrich says and Atilea glances at him then rolls her eyes at him.

"Usually it's Jeremie that ruins something so heartfelt with science, not you. At least that's what I gather from Aelita's memories," she replies. "Anyways, she used to gather a handful for her mother almost everyday. She was so….happy then. So innocent. But then…." She stops and her expression changes from fondness to sadness. Ulrich looks at her and sees her hide her face as tears begin to flow once more.

"Atilea…?" he starts hesitantly. He hears her sniff and sees her wipe her eyes.

"She has all these wonderful memories and what do I have?" she asks, suddenly turning to him with a look of self-disgust on her face. "Nothing! I have nothing! All I am is a copy of the real thing, just as Jeremie said! I have no parents, no home to go to, no real friends that truly care for me like you do! I…" Tears interrupt her and she puts her knees to her chest then puts her head down on them as she wraps her arms around her knees.

Ulrich sits next to her, not sure what to do. Then, he gently touches her shoulder. He hears her sob and she buries her head deeper in her legs. "I…don't know what to say that will make you feel any better, but I'm beginning to believe that you really do feel other emotions besides hatred and anger," he says weakly.

Atilea lifts her head slightly and peers at him hopefully. "Really?"

He shrugs and replies, "Yeah. Sure."

She reaches over to him and wraps her arms around him, giving him a massive hug and nearly causing the two to fall over on each other. She buries her head in his neck and he feels her warm tears fall on his neck.

"Thank you, Ulrich! You don't know how much that means to me!" he hears her say appreciatively. "I don't think any of your other friends would have given me a chance."

She pulls away from him and gives him a huge smile and straightens his shirt collar. He regards her curiously as she once again looks at the dandelion admiringly. Then, she lifts her eyes to look at a slightly stunned Ulrich and smiles slightly flirtatious. Ulrich notices this and raises a concerned eyebrow. She reaches out and takes a hold of the button up shirt worn over his t-shirt, then takes the dandelion and sticks it in the top button hole. He looks down as she gently smoothes his shirt out again. She then gently pats his chest and smiles at him happily. "There. I want you to have it, Ulrich, as a symbol of our… sorta new friendship," she says and turns to look for another dandelion.

Ulrich looks down at the dandelion and blinks in a stunned awe, not sure if what happened was real or something fake. "Um, thanks…" he says finally, looking up to see her pick another dandelion and stick it in her hair, just above her right ear. "You're welcome!" she replies cheerily and hugs her knees, then lays her head on them, her head turned to look at him. The huge smile remains and she closes her eyes as an aura of peace settles on her face, giving her an almost angelic look.

He sighs and turns to look at the Hermitage door, wondering where Yumi is. "What's taking her so long?" he wonders out loud. Atilea lifts her head and looks at the door also. "Yeah, she should have been back by now."

Just then, a loud crash resounds from inside the Hermitage, causing Ulrich to instantly leap up from the ground and run to the Hermitage door. He flings the door open, nearly hitting Atilea in the face, who is following close behind him.

"YUMI!" Ulrich yells as he steps inside. The room is filled with dust and debris, making visibility almost non-existent.

Suddenly, he hears coughing coming from his right side. "Ulrich?" comes a familiar voice. "Yumi! Are you alright?" he asks in the general direction as he waves his hand through the air, trying to clear it, but with little success.

Yumi coughs a couple more times and stumbles toward him. As she comes within his range of vision, a wave of relief washes over Ulrich. He jogs to her and the two hug each other. Atilea steps up and hugs the two of them at the same time, happy to see Yumi safe. Yumi looks at her astonished and her jaw drops open. "Ulrich, what's gotten into her?" Yumi asks. Ulrich smiles at her and shrugs. "Ask her yourself. She'd be able to explain it better than me," he replies simply. "But first, are you alright?" Yumi glances at him and nods. "Yeah, part of the second floor fell in after I had already gotten down here," she replies. The trio separate and the air in the room begins to clear. Ulrich sees a pile of rotten boards on the other side of the room and a gaping hole in the ceiling. "Wow, termites," he says walking over to the pile and picking up a chunk of the wood, watching the tiny white insects scurry around on it. "Well, an old, abandoned house like this is an all you can eat buffet to them," Yumi states walking over to him. Atilea steps up behind Yumi and peers over her shoulder at the wood Ulrich is holding up. "Eeewww! Put that down! They're gross!" she exclaims shivering in disgust towards the blind insects.

Ulrich and Yumi turn to her and give her a surprised look. "What? They're just… um, eating the wood," Ulrich replies and holds out the wood toward Atilea. She looks at it and sees that a few of the tiny creatures have crawled onto his hand. She squeals in disgust, runs to the doorway, and hides behind it, peering around the door. Ulrich tries to suppress his laughter but fails. He sets the wood back down and gently brushes the insects off his hand. Yumi gives him a quizzical look and says, "I hope you've had your fill of fun with bugs today." He turns to her and smiles. "Yeah, I guess so." Atilea frowns at him as the two walk towards the door. "That was not funny, Ulrich! Bugs are gross!" she scolds. "Yumi, would you hit him for me, please?"

Yumi can't help but giggle. Ulrich stops and gives Yumi an innocent look. She smiles deviously and slugs his shoulder with her fist. "Ow…!" he winces, running his shoulder. The two girls laugh as the trio walks back out into the yard of the Hermitage. Yumi then turns to Atilea and hands her a pink box. "Is this the box?" she asks. Atilea glances at it and smiles. "Yes, it is! Did you find the key?" Yumi reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pink key. Atilea takes the key from Yumi and slides it into the lock to test it. She turns it slightly, feeling it activate the lock barrels inside easily. "This is the key. Thanks, Yumi!" Atilea says taking the key out of the lock and gives her a hug. Yumi is taken slightly aback by the hug and is not sure what caused this sudden change in Atilea's behavior.

Atilea tucks the box under her arm and then looks at the key, trying to decide where to put it. She tries to put it down her shirt but it falls through a couple of seconds later. Ulrich blushes and turns away as Atilea bends down to pick up the key, accidentally seeing the reason why the key fell through her shirt. Yumi sees him blushing and sees an opportunity to tease him. "What's the matter, Ulrich? Why are you blushing?" she asks him, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. He turns to look at her and starts to reply, but his words die in his throat. Atilea tucks the key in her skirt and looks at the couple curiously, unaware of Ulrich's embarrassment. "I didn't mean to…look! It just…was there in my line of sight! It was an accident!" he exclaims defensively. Yumi giggles at him. "I know it was an accident, Ulrich! That's why I'm only teasing you and not smacking you upside the head with my boot!" Yumi replies smiling devilishly.

"See what, Ulrich?" Atilea asks genuinely innocent of what happened. Ulrich shoots her a very embarrassed look and stammers, "I, uh, n--nothing!" He turns and walks out the gate to the yard quickly. Atilea gives him a curious look and then turns to a giggling Yumi. "What? What did I miss?" she asks. Yumi shakes her head and replies, "Oh, just Ulrich embarrassing himself." Atilea tilts her head, not seeing the reason why Ulrich is embarrassed. "How? What did he see?" she asks Yumi innocently. Yumi realizes that Atilea doesn't know that she caused Ulrich's embarrassment when she leant over in front of him to pick up the key. "Oh, I'll tell you later!" Yumi replies smiling in Ulrich's direction.

Atilea looks at her skeptically and then shakes her head, dismissing the subject for now. "Well, before we go, I want to get something first," she says glancing around the yard. Yumi watches her curiously and asks, "What is it? Maybe I could help." Then a devious twinkle appears in her eye. "Maybe I can get _Ulrich_ to help you!" she finishes, sending him a teasing look that causes him to blush and frown at her. Atilea glances at Yumi and states, "I wish you would tell me what he saw." Then Atilea spots a cluster of dandelions and smiles happily as she jogs over to them. Yumi watches her pick several of the little yellow flowers and walk back to them smiling cheerfully, carefully holding her prize.

"Dandelions?", Yumi asks curiously as Atilea gently brushes away a stray grass blade from one of the blossoms. Atilea looks up at her with a very child-like expression and hands her one of the flowers. "For you, Yumi. As a small token of my friendship towards you."

Yumi is taken aback by this and glances over to Ulrich and sees him nod slightly, indicating that it is alright. Then, Yumi sees that he has a dandelion stuck in one of his button holes of his shirt. Yumi turns and looks at the dandelion, then up to Atilea's face. She sees a genuine feeling of care and love in her now bright and happy face. She smiles slightly and takes the flower from her and sees that Atilea has one in her hair over her ear.

"Thank you…" Yumi says softly and regards the dandelion with admiration. "I see you gave Ulrich one, too…"

Atilea nods and smiles at him. "Yeah. He was the one that really made the most difference in my life. You're very lucky to have him, Yumi. Don't ever let him go. You mean a lot to him." Yumi looks at her astonished, unable to respond. Atilea glances at Yumi and smiles. "Hey, why don't you put your dandelion in your hair like mine? It'd look great!" she says suddenly changing the subject.

Yumi looks at her dandelion and shrugs slightly. "I, uh, well, maybe…." Atilea smiles reassuringly at her. "Yeah! Go ahead! The yellow will stand out more against your ebony hair," she says holding one of the other dandelions up to Yumi's ear. "Don't you agree, Ulrich?" Ulrich glances over at Yumi and sees Yumi blushing slightly. He smiles and replies, "Yeah, it looks great on you, Yumi."

Yumi sighs and gives in to the pressure. "Fine. I'll try it. But if I don't like it, the dandelion is coming out!" she states firmly and slides the flower behind her left ear. Ulrich smiles at her, admiring his girlfriend's beauty. The flower stands out against her ebony hair but enhances her natural beauty, at least he thinks so. He walks up to her and slides an arm around her waist. "You look beautiful, Yumi," he whispers to her and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Yumi smiles and blushes, then returns the kiss. "Thank you, Sweetie, but that doesn't get you out of being teased!"

Ulrich's smile disappears and is replaced with annoyance. Atilea frowns, still bothered about not knowing what embarrassed Ulrich. "That is not why I told you were beautiful. I meant it as a heartfelt compliment. Thanks for throwing it back in my face.", he states blandly.

Yumi sighs and rolls her eyes at him. "Now you're being ridiculous, Ulrich. I know how you meant it. I was just teasing you. I swear, sometimes you take things too literally." Atilea shuffles uncomfortably and wishes there were a way she could be somewhere else instead of in the middle of a lover's quarrel. "Um, yeah, everybody's happy, right? Can we go now?" she asks uncertainly, trying not to add to the uncomfortable atmosphere.

Yumi and Ulrich realize she has been standing next to them the whole time and blushes. Both mouth "sorry" to her and Yumi turns to exit the gate. The trio walks a little ways down the path in silence. Atilea sighs loudly, finding the uneasy silence disconcerting.

"Where are we going?" she asks finally. Ulrich glances back at her and smiles. "You'll see. Just be patient, ok?" he replies. Atilea looks at Yumi for a better answer but only receives a suppressed smile, giving Atilea the suspicion that she knows where they are going, but is not entirely convinced it is the best place to go.

A little ways on, they exit the forest and come out into a clearing on top of a ledge overlooking the city. Atilea's jaw drops as the wondrous and scenic view unfolds before her. She steps past Yumi and Ulrich, almost to the edge of the high ledge and stares in awe at the panoramic view. Her eyes pan from one side to the other and back again, each time seeing something new.

"Oh, wow!" she says awestruck.

"I thought you'd like it," remarks Ulrich smiling.

Atilea just nods slowly, unable to reply.

Yumi steps closer to Ulrich and says, "This is where Ulrich and I finally made it official that we were a couple." She leans over to Ulrich and asks, "Why did you bring her here?" He looks at her and replies, "Mainly for the awesome view. I wanted to show her something that wouldn't leave her memory. Something that would stick in her mind. Nothing more, Yumi. This place means more to us than being just a pretty place to have a picnic. This is the place that I declared my love for you, Yumi."

Atilea, by now has heard the two talking and has turned around, listening in on their conversation. Ulrich takes Yumi's hands in his own and stares affectionately into her eyes. "That is something no one can take away from us, no matter who sees it besides us.", Ulrich continues. Yumi's face softens at his words and smiles affectionately back at him.

"Oh, Ulrich, you're so romantic!" says Atilea sweetly. "Yumi's heart must melt every time you talk like that!"

The couple turns their heads to look at her, blushing deeply. "Go on, don't mind me. I'm just gonna go over there and sit on that rock, so you two can have some quality time together," Atilea continues, motioning towards a boulder a few feet away. "I won't look, I promise!" she says teasingly.

Yumi starts to turn her offer down but stops when she sees Atilea walk over to the boulder, climb up on it, and make herself comfortable. Atilea gently sits the pink box down next to her and begins to take in the view once more. A gentle breeze blows by, causing her hair to rustle slightly. Atilea smiles peacefully and closes her eyes to allow her other senses to fully capture the wonder of the scene.

Yumi feels Ulrich slide his hands from her hands, up her forearms, and onto her waist. She turns to gaze into his brown eyes and lets him pull her into his arms fully. She snakes her arms around his sides and up his back. Then, the two lock in a deep, passionate kiss that lasts for what seems like an eternity.

Suddenly, Yumi's cell phone breaks the silence of the passionate kiss and startles the couple. They separate instantly and Yumi fumbles around to get her phone.

"Hello?" Yumi answers. "What? I—I can't hear you! Jeremie? You're breaking up! Look, I'm gonna have to go and get somewhere with better reception! Hold on!"

Ulrich raises an eyebrow as a look of disappointment forms on Yumi's face, followed by a look of frustration with her cell phone. "I really need to get a new phone! This one sucks!" she states in mild anger. She looks at Ulrich and says, "Hey, I'll be back in a minute. I'm going back down the path a ways. Hopefully the signal will clear up enough." Ulrich nods and she leans into him and the two kiss quickly.

Atilea watches Yumi take off back the way they came and enter the forest, out of sight. Ulrich walks casually over to her and smiles at her. "What do you think?" he asks her, indicating scenic overlook. Atilea turns and glances out across the landscape once more, then turns back to Ulrich. "I love it. It's so beautiful. I now fully realize why you fight so hard to protect this place from X.A.N.A. Thanks for showing me this, Ulrich. I owe you," she replies, sliding down to the ground from where she sat.

Atilea steps next to him and leans her head on his shoulder. He gives her a disproving look and she instantly lifts her head and blushes. "Sorry, Ulrich. I didn't mean anything by that…." she starts remorsefully. Ulrich nods slightly, accepting her apology and squats down. He begins to draw in the dirt with a stick and Atilea picks up the pink box, then checks to make sure the key is still in her skirt.

"Ulrich?"

"Yes, Atilea?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Uh, sure, I guess."

Atilea kneels down next to him and he turns his head to look at her. "Um, I just want to know, at the Hermitage, what did you see that embarrassed you? You can tell me. I mean, who am I gonna tell?"

Ulrich grows wide-eyed and blushes deeply. "I, uh, well, can't tell you… it's too embarrassing. All I have to say is that I'm sorry I…saw…" He trails off, realizing that he's about to tell. Atilea gives him a frustrated and worried frown. "Did I do something wrong or do something to make you not trust me?" she asks. Ulrich quickly shakes his head. "No, no! That's not it at all! I'm just not comfortable telling you,"

Atilea gives him a slight flirtatious smile. "What can I do to make you comfortable, Ulrich?" "Nothing! Look, could we change the subject, please?" he replies quickly. Atilea frowns in disappointment and reluctantly agrees.

Meanwhile, a little ways down the path, Yumi finally finds a spot where her cell phone gets a better signal. Jeremie was indeed on the other end and both are relieved to be able to get a good, clear signal. "I said, where are you guys? I'm ready and you were supposed to be back a while ago! What's going on?" he asks.

"Ulrich had a different place in mind to take Atilea. Sorry, I didn't realize it would take this long. Besides, Atilea was, well, enjoying herself," Yumi replies.

Jeremie looks confused and cocks his head slightly, wondering if he really heard her correctly. "Did you just say that Atilea was _enjoying_ herself?"

"Yes, I did. She's been really… um, happy. But there is more. She had an attack of some sort when she entered the Hermitage for the first time…." Yumi starts but Jeremie interrupts her. "You took her to the Hermitage! Are you crazy!"

Yumi frowns and replies firmly, "I couldn't really help it. That is where the stairs we took to get out of the sewers led us. Don't worry, everything went fine. Mostly."

"Mostly? What do you mean, mostly?"

"Well, part of the second story floor fell down…."

"You put a hole in the second story floor! What were you doing? Giving a guided tour?"

"No, Jeremie. Look, just relax, ok? We were only in there for a short time. I had to go upstairs for….something…I'll tell you later when we get back. Look, my battery is running low and my phone could go out any second. I promise to tell you everything when we get back."

"Well, hurry up. The other two twins are getting suspicious and I don't know how much longer I can stall them"

"Ok, ok. I'll go get Ulrich and Atilea and then we'll be on our way back."

"Wait, you left Ulrich alone with Atilea! Aren't you worried…"

"No, Jeremie, I'm not worried. I'll see you later. Bye!" Yumi finishes sternly and hangs up on him. "Sheesh. He's almost as paranoid as Ulrich sometimes…"

At the ledge, Ulrich balances the stick that he drew in the dirt with on his index finger. Atilea watches him curiously and notices that he is balancing it on its end, despite the relative shortness of the stick. "So, H'cirlu really did gain his sense of balance from you, and not from some addition X.A.N.A. made to him," she says to him. He lets the stick tip over, but catches it in his hand before it has time to fall to the ground.

"I guess so. This is off-topic, but I have to know something. I know that you and Imuy have the memories that Yumi and Aelita has, but what about the other two, Dod and H'cirlu? Do they also have copies of our memories as well?" he asks.

Atilea stands and brushes the grass off her skirt. She looks at him sadly. "Yes, they do. And a word of warning. They will try to use those memories against you. They'll most likely use personal and the most deeply hidden things." Yumi returns and begins listening in to their conversation. Atilea notices she is back, but continues. "I'm certain that the memories I have been experiencing were really meant to be used against Aelita, especially the ones that caused my, um, severe headache earlier."

"Severe headache? That's an understatement!" remarks Yumi, mildly startling Ulrich who didn't realize she was behind him. Atilea shrugs modestly and replies, "Well, yeah, but I was trying to make a point." Ulrich fiddles with the stick and turns to Yumi. "What did Jeremie want?"

Yumi frowns and replies, "He was wondering where we've been. Apparently, he's ready and wants us back at the factory as soon as we can get there."

A wave of sadness overtakes Atilea and she hangs her head. She's been dreading this moment ever since she exited the cellar door back at the Hermitage and saw the real world for the first time. She sighs sadly and walks between her two escorts towards the path back to the factory. "Well, let's not keep him waiting. I'm ready to go," Atilea says depressively. Yumi and Ulrich pause before turning to follow her.

Suddenly, Atilea stops and turns to look at Yumi and Ulrich resolutely. "Before we go, I want to do something." Yumi and Ulrich watch her expectantly, but aren't sure what to expect. She gets a determined smile on her face and continues, "Ulrich, you said that this spot is where you declared your love for Yumi to her. Well, I'm gonna declare something here, too, if you don't mind."

Ulrich shrugs and glances at Yumi, who is looking nervous at Atilea. "From this moment on, I declare that I am no longer going to do the bidding of X.A.N.A. With you two as my witnesses, I declare that I am going to, from this point on, take control of my own destiny! I am not going to let X.A.N.A. dictate what I do, where I go, or what I believe! I make my own choices now! And I solemnly choose to defend this world and all the beauty that is in it!" Atilea exclaims boldly. Ulrich smiles at her proudly and Yumi shakes her head, not sure if what she just heard was real or her imagination. "And furthermore, I don't care about the consequences of my decision or what X.A.N.A. might or will do to me. This place is worth fighting for," she finishes and lets of a sigh of relief.

Ulrich slowly begins clapping and Yumi hesitates before joining him. "That was great, Atilea! I'm glad you made that decision! Good for you!" Ulrich praises and places his hand on her shoulder. She smiles and blushes. "Thanks. Now, let's go back to the factory! Einstein is waiting and I'm sure you know that he's not the most patient person in the world," Atilea replies.

"Einstein?" Yumi asks softly.

"What? I know his nickname, Yumi. Remember, I have Aelita's memories. That certainly was part of them. Odd called him that every time he had a chance!"

Yumi shrugs, knowing she was right. "Alright, less talk, more walk," she says pointing towards the pathway leading back into the forest. The trio then turns and walks down the path.

Jeremie taps impatiently on the armrest of his chair and frowns. "Where are they? I called five minutes ago! They should have been here by now!" Aelita gives him an annoyed frown. "Jeremie, it takes about five minutes to get from the Hermitage's cellar to the factory bridge. I'm sure they'll be here any moment. I thought for sure I taught you little bit of patience, but I guess not!", she says sternly. Odd chuckles at him and catches a disproving glance from Jeremie. Imuy shifts uncomfortably on the floor but still can't help but chuckle at Jeremie's impatience. "I guess you guys are that impatient to die!" she states hatefully, but her statement doesn't have the affect she hoped for because the three doesn't respond at all.

"Oh, the silent treatment, I see. Well, that won't stop me from talking! I've been wondering, why did you come back, Odd? Was it because you didn't have your fill of beating up someone that is tied up and unable to defend themselves?" Imuy taunts. Odd bites his lower lip, but refuses to respond to her jibes.

Then, the maintenance door opens and Atilea, Yumi, and Ulrich enter the room. Jeremie looks up at them exasperated. "It's about time! Where all did you go? Egypt?" he exclaims.

"Um, no. But did go see the Coliseum in Rome!" Ulrich replies sarcastically. Jeremie gives him an annoyed frown. "Whatever. Look, I ready to send them back." Atilea shuffles to the center of the room nervously and gives everyone a nervous smile. Jeremie watches her confusedly and then notices that her hands are free. "Um, Ulrich, Yumi, why is her hands free?" Jeremie asks, equally nervous.

Ulrich walks over to him and gently pats his shoulder. "Relax, Jeremie. Just listen to what she has to say," Ulrich reassures him then nods to Atilea. She exhales nervously and glances around the room, then takes a deep breath and begins to speak.

"I have some things to share with all of you. First of all, I'd like to thank Ulrich and Yumi for being great escorts while I visited the real world. I really enjoyed myself and I'll never forget it. I especially want to thank Ulrich for being a true friend to me. I don't think I could have held onto my sanity if it weren't for you. I'd like to thank Aelita for convincing Jeremie to even let me go out there and experience the wonder and beauty of this world. Heh, I also thank Jeremie for being obedient to Aelita! We all know how he's such a rebel and likes to do things his own way!" Atilea giggles and is joined by Aelita and Ulrich. Jeremie frowns at them and crosses his arms. "That's not funny. And I don't have to have it MY way," he states sourly.

Atilea continues after Aelita gives him a gentle hug. "Um, I'd like to also thank Yumi for also giving me the chance to see the world you defend so avidly. Without her agreeing to escort me out there, I would not have had the chance to go. Also, for risking her neck for me, and I'll get more on that later." She pauses as she comes to Odd. She looks at him sadly and wishes she had more to say about him. "Um, Odd, I'd like to thank you for… uh, not eating all the pizza in one sitting," Atilea says weakly. "I wish I had something better than that to say, but that's all I have, I'm sorry. I know you're a good guy, based on Aelita's memories, and a very dedicated fighter. I hope that you do not lose that strong sense of loyalty. Oh, and you have a goofy sense of humor. One that really takes some getting used to. Don't lose that. It'll help you dramatically throughout your life." Odd raises his eyebrows at her statements.

"Yeah, I'm glad Odd didn't eat all the pizza either!" pipes up Ulrich. Odd gives him a speculative look. "What are you talking about? You didn't even have any pizza!" he says to Ulrich. Ulrich nods and replies, "I know, but I'm hungry now and I see that there are a coupe of slices left." "They're cold, though," informs Aelita. Ulrich shrugs and walks over to the box and picks up a slice. "So? Cold pizza's still good!" he replies before taking a bite. Yumi frowns at him and states, "I think you've been rooming with Odd too long. You're beginning to pick up his eating habits. First, eating cold pizza, then the next thing you know, he's stealing food off someone else's plate!" Ulrich swallows his bite and replies, "No, I'll never get that bad. Odd holds the patent on that habit!" Odd gives him a thumbs up and a huge smile. "Well, he'd better not try to steal anything off my plate or he'll end up with a fork in the back of his hand!" Yumi responds with playful harshness. Ulrich chuckles and walks back over next to Yumi, chewing another bite.

Atilea giggles at their conversation before moving on in her speech. "Anyways, if you are through talking about food and eating habits, I'll move on. I have something to give to each of you. Ulrich and Yumi already got theirs and I've already expressed my feelings to them." She holds up her hand, revealing the dandelions she had picked earlier. The three look at her and the flowers in confusion, unable to fully understand what she intents.

"Before I hand these out, I want to explain what they mean or represent. They are a small symbol and token of my friendship and feelings of gratefulness toward you. I gave Ulrich his because he was the one that influenced me the most and caused me to see life in a whole new way. I gave Yumi hers because I know I can trust her to keep me honest and in line. I figure if she can handle keeping Ulrich in line, why not me?" Her last line joke causes Aelita and Yumi to laugh as Ulrich blushes and turns to hide his face from the group. "Thanks, Atilea. It's not like I haven't been teased enough for one day," he says in playful annoyance. Atilea smiles proudly and giggles. Yumi elbows him playfully in the ribs and gives him a commanding smile. "Ooh, looks like Ulrich pick up the 'Mr. Hen-Pecked of the Year' award today!" Odd jokes. "Ha, ha, ha. Very funny. I'm going to enjoy it when it's your turn!" Ulrich retorts.

Atilea chuckles and sighs to herself in relief. It felt good to see them laughing and enjoying each other's company again. She smiles and picks out one of the dandelions, then walks over to Jeremie. Jeremie shifts uneasily and nervously as she nears. She stops short of him and holds out the flower to him. He stares in shock at the flower, unsure of what to do. "Jeremie, I want to give this to you because I know that, because of you, none of this would have ever happened. If you hadn't discovered the factory, figured out what it was for, and helped Aelita escape from her prison of memory-loss and seclusion, none of the people you see here today would probably have never met, especially you and Aelita. I know, from her memories, she filled a void in your life you thought would never be filled. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at her. For you, Jeremie, a small, seemingly insignificant dandelion that represents a whole lot more than you realize."

Atilea patiently holds the dandelion out to him, waiting for him to take it. Jeremie eyes her and the flower cautiously. He glances over to Ulrich and Yumi, both of whom nod at him reassuringly. Jeremie reluctantly reaches out and take the yellow flower, regarding it curiously and cautiously. Atilea gives him a cheerful smile and steps back away from him. She picks out another dandelion and hesitantly walks to Odd. Odd watches her intently, not trusting her words or actions.

"Um, Odd, I know you are going to be the hardest one to gain any trust with, so if you refuse my flower, I'll understand. But, I'd really like for you to take it. I want to apologize to you personally for all the pain you suffered from X.A.N.A. and we the twins, despite knowing the others would never agree with me and what I'm doing. In fact, I can see the disdain and anger in Imuy's face right now, but I'm choosing to ignore her and do what I know is right. Honestly, right now, I could care less about what she's thinks about me. All I care about is my new friends." Atilea cautiously holds out the dandelion to him. "Also, please don't take it and try to eat it. It's not food. You could get sick," she jokes weakly, trying not to offend him while still trying to emote laughter from him, or at the least, a smile. Odd stares at the flower and then up to Atilea's face. He sees a different look in her eyes and notices a big change in her disposition. "Well, I can tell you've changed, though I'm not sure what I see is real or fake. But, I've have learned a lesson or two today also," he states and reaches for the flower. A twinkle of glee flashes in her eyes and a smile of relief and happiness forms on her lips as he takes the dandelion from her. "I've learned that a person should be given a second chance. And a third, and hopefully a fourth," he continues as he looks over to Ulrich, remembering how he restrained him earlier. Ulrich nods and gives his friend a solidifying smile.

Atilea takes the last flower and turns to look at Aelita. "I saved you for last, Aelita, on purpose because I have more than one thing to give you," she states, sneaking the key for the pink box under her arm out of her skirt. "Hey, how come I didn't get more than one thing?" Ulrich kids. Atilea rolls her eyes and replies, "What do you want? Another dandelion?" Atilea replies sarcastically. "Or—I can give you the gift of Yumi telling everyone here the reason why you got embarrassed so bad earlier, and come to think of it, I'd still like to know what you saw to get embarrassed in the first place!" Ulrich instantly gets wide-eyed and shakes his head vigorously "no". Yumi smiles at Ulrich as she ponders Atilea's idea. "All you have to do is ask for it, Atilea, and I'll tell you, right here, right now!", Yumi states defiantly. "No! That's ok! I'm fine with what I got! Really! I don't need anything more!" he exclaims backing away from the group.

Atilea gives him a controlling smile and turns back to a giggling Aelita. She stops giggling as her eye catches the glint of the pink box under Atilea's arm. Aelita looks up at Atilea's face and sees a deep compassion and warmth. Atilea pulls out the pink box and sets the dandelion on the lid carefully.

"Aelita, I… you…" She gets choked up as tears threaten to well up. Atilea regains part of her composure and continues. "I…. have seen some very painful memories that belong to you and you alone. Out of courtesy for you, I'm not going into them. I have seen memories that you have forgotten about, whether be it by time just passing or by your mind shoving them away. This box is part of the memories that has been shoved away and hidden. I saw this box in a violent memory attack, I suppose you'd call it, and I asked Yumi to retrieve it from the Hermitage for you. The contents are a mystery to me and I respected your privacy and didn't open it. After all, those memories aren't mine, but yours. I'm not going to pry or even ask you to consider telling me or anyone here about these particular memories, not even your beloved Jeremie. That I leave to you. But I warn you, this box will force some very painful memories to be uncovered. Trust me, I know first hand. They violently took me so bad that I convulsed on the floor of the Hermitage. But I don't think you'll spasm like I did. I believe I spasmed because the memories weren't native to my mind. Or it could have been the sheer volume of memories, I don't know."

Atilea sets the key to the box next to the dandelion on the lid. "Here, this is for you, Aelita, to show you that I consider you more of a potential big sister in some ways and a potential friend. I don't expect you to open the box here. I want you to choose when and where to open it."

Aelita takes the box carefully from Atilea and regards it curiously. The box feels vaguely familiar to her, until a hidden memory surfaces that causes her to close her eyes and causes tears begin to fall from them. Aelita slowly slides to her knees as a few more hidden memories surface. Jeremie starts to slide down next to his girlfriend but Aelita slides away from him and toward Atilea. He looks at her astonished, not understanding why she would do that.

Atilea lets her own tears fall from her eyes as she kneels down and gently touches Aelita's shoulder. Aelita instinctively wraps her arms around her twin and the two cry silently on each other, obviously sharing the same pain from the uncovered memories. The room grows silent, save for the humming of the computer.

_Even Imuy, is silent, though her motives may be different from the rest_, notes Ulrich to himself.

Finally, the twins separate and Aelita looks deep into Atilea's eyes, seeing only compassion and love for her. "You told no one?" she manages to ask Atilea. Atilea shakes her head no and replies, "I even told Ulrich and Yumi that I wanted you to tell, if you so chose to. They're your memories, Sis, not mine." She wipes her eyes and sees Aelita pick up the dandelion and key from the lid of the box. Aelita wipes her eyes as childhood memories flood her mind as she looks at the little yellow flower. "This was my favorite flower as a child, but you knew that already, didn't you?", she asks Atilea. Atilea nods and clasps her own hands in her lap. Aelita sees the dandelion in Atilea's hair and smiles, then places her dandelion in her own hair, above her left ear. The two giggle happily, like two old friends finally seeing each other after being separated for years.

"Sister. Sis. That's going to take some getting used to," Aelita states smiling. Atilea returns her smile and stands, smoothing out her skirt. Aelita stands and pockets the key to the box and sticks the box under her arm. She then walks over to Jeremie hugs him. He smiles softly and wraps an arm around her. Atilea sighs and glances around the room, coming to rest on Imuy.

"I wish you would have chosen to go with me outside, Imuy. It would have been a good experience for you, but you chose to harden your heart, and it hurts me to know that now we are ….enemies," Atilea says sadly to her. Imuy gives her a shocked look and is unable to respond. "Which brings me to my final announcement. While I was out, Ulrich took me to a place that was a special to him and Yumi. The view was spectacular as was the company that was with me. Yes, that does include you, Yumi. Don't worry, I didn't violate Ulrich in anyway, that I know of. It was at this spot, I made a declaration. As Yumi and Ulrich as my witnesses, I declared that I would defend this world from X.A.N.A. with all the passion and energy that I can muster, same as all of you. I declared my freedom from X.A.N.A.'s hold over my life, and now, I declare it here, before all of you, so that you all know where I stand. I don't expect everyone to instantly trust me. I expect to have to earn your trust. Some will be easier to earn than others, but I'm prepared for that."

Imuy suddenly explodes in rage. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING! YOU IDIOT! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!" she yells, red-faced and trembling. Atilea looks at her sympathetically, but remains silent. "You are an embarrassment to your Maker! I hope you DIE horribly!" Imuy continues harshly.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Imuy. I was hoping that you'd at least give it a chance, but I guess you're too jaded now for that. It pains me to know that we'll be forced to fight each other," replies Atilea caringly. Imuy spits at her and grits her teeth angrily. "You've been poisoned by their lies, Atilea! I can't believe that you would allow yourself to be debased in such a manner! Unlike you, I have no qualms of fighting you! If that is really what you want, then so be it," Imuy states coldly.

Atilea frowns at her. "That's not what I want. What I really want is to be here, to enjoy the real world, and to make my own identity instead of being a mere shadow or a copy of someone else. And I'm not poisoned by anyone's lies. I saw the world with my own eyes and made my own choice. If anyone is being poisoned by someone's lies, it's you, Dod, and H'cirlu. X.A.N.A. suppresses our true selves to keep us under control because he knows that if we ever gained our freedom, we'd see his true colors."

She turns to Jeremie and smiles slightly. "Jeremie, I'd like to add something to your plan, if you don't mind or if you even have room for anything new." Jeremie raises his eyebrows in amazement. "Um, well, it depends on what you want to add…" he says uncertainly. Atilea smiles and turns her head to look at Imuy. "Now, you just sit there quietly and behave. I'd hate for you to have your mouth taped closed," she says and then walks over to Jeremie. She then whispers her plan to him and after hearing, gets a sly smile on his face. "I hope that doesn't mess with what you've had planned too much," Atilea says normally. Jeremie shakes his head and begins to type away at the keyboard. "Not too bad. I just wish I would have thought of it first," he replies without looking up.

Atilea smiles satisfied and walks over to her new found, older sister Aelita. "This is going to be so fun!" she says enthusiastically. "What is going to be so much fun?" Aelita asks. "My plan, or rather, my addition to Jeremie's plan. You'll all see soon!" Atilea replies fidgeting excitedly. "Whatever your plan is, it won't work! I'll make sure of that!" boasts Imuy defiantly. Atilea chuckles, equally defiant, and replies, "Well, I'm counting on that!" Imuy gets a confused look and blinks rapidly. "Wha--?" she starts.

"Ok, we're ready, guys!" Jeremie informs looking up and smiling. "All of you, head down to the scanner room. Ulrich, Yumi, and Atilea will go first, then Odd, Aelita and Imuy will go next. Remember that order, ok?" Everyone nods and Odd and Aelita picks up a struggling Imuy off the floor. "Let go of me, you infidels!" she growls at the two. "Shut up," Odd says firmly as Aelita cuts the rope that binds Imuy's ankles. "And don't even think of trying to escape. It would be bad for you!" he finishes, receiving a hateful look from her.

In the scanner room, Ulrich, Yumi, and Atilea each enter a scanner pod. "Ok, here we go…. Transfer: Ulrich! Transfer: Yumi! Transfer: Atilea… whoa, that sounds so weird…" Jeremie says watching the screen. "Scanner: Ulrich, Scanner: Yumi, and Scanner: Atilea! Geez, that's a mouth full…" he states to himself. "Virtualization! Ok, next group, you're up!"

Aelita and Odd almost have to shove Imuy into the scanner pod. The door closes on her before she can turn to run out the pod. Then, Aelita and Odd each take a scanner pod. "Transfer: Aelita, Odd, and Imuy… hey that's easier to say. Why haven't I done that before?" Jeremie muses. "Scanner: Aelita, Odd, and Imuy!" Jeremie pauses and says, "Good luck, you guys. Be careful, Aelita. Love you." Aelita smiles and replies, "Love you, too Sweetie!" Jeremie smiles and finishes the sequence.

"Virtualization!"

Then, Jeremie finds the sudden silence of the room rather lonely, but he shakes the feeling off and pulls up the stat widow on the computer screen. "Good luck, all of you," he whispers.


	8. Small Victories

_**Disclaimer: **Ugh, if this wasn't necessary, I'd skip it, but there are those wacko people out there….oh, and copyright laws….sigh I don't own any of Code: Lyoko… but if I did…(devious grin)_

_Ok, this is pretty much all action. A little mushy stuff between the couples and a bit of humor, but I realized that writing action scenes can be quite lengthy. So don't get to upset that this chapter is long. (How do you guys feel about the long chapters? Drop me an email w/ your opinions or include w/ review!) Also, if you like to listen to music while reading, I suggest POD - Boom!_

_And, no, this ISN'T the last chapter. Want to clarify that up front before I start getting things asking that question. Yes, there is more to come! Enjoy, yo!_

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part VI: Small Victories**

_Something is wrong. Terribly wrong. What has happened?_

Atilea finishes sealing Imuy in ice up to her neck. Ulrich gives Atilea a thumbs up and a big grin.

"Aarghh! Get me out of this! Now!", screams Imuy in rage.

"Aahh! Why don't you just seal her mouth up as well?" Odd suggests irritatedly. "It would make things a lot quieter around here!"

Imuy shoots him an angry glance as best as she can, being trapped in ice and only about to turn her head a few inches.

"It's tempting, but I think this is a much better prison. Able to talk all the smack she wants, but unable to do anything! Hee, hee!" Atilea replies.

"You're almost as cruel as Yumi. I'm glad you're on our side now!" Ulrich states. Yumi glances at him with a commanding smile.

"You guys had better get going! Despite being on Lyoko and only being digital, that ice still obeys some laws of physics. If you haven't noticed, you are smack dab in the middle of the Desert Sector! Atilea's ice isn't going to hold her for very long!" pipes up Jeremie.

"We hear ya, Einstein! But how about giving us a mode of transportation?" Odd replies.

Jeremie sighs and continues to type at the keyboard. "The vehicles are on their way! Be patient, Odd!"

"Patient? Ha! I think you're getting slow in your old age!" jokes Odd, watching his Overboard materialize at his feet.

"Um, you do realize that Jeremie is a year younger than us and two years younger than Yumi?" Ulrich asks him.

"Well, if you're referring to linear age, he's actually way older than me! After all, I'm only, what, a day or two old." Atilea chimes in.

"If you're through goofing off…." Jeremie starts, irritatedly.

"Ok, ok! We're going! Sheesh!" Odd says crossing his arms. Ulrich and Yumi hop onto their vehicles and Aelita steps onto the Overwing with Yumi. Atilea glances between Ulrich and Odd, trying to decide who to ride with. She sees Ulrich wave for her to come ride with him, then glances at Yumi to seek permission. Yumi nods and she climbs onto the Overbike with Ulrich. Then, the group takes off across the desert, leaving a protesting and frozen Imuy behind.

This cannot be! It is impossible! My calculations were perfect! How! How did those meddling humans do it? How did they turn one of my children! HOW!

H'cirlu glances over at the still sulking Dod and frowns. "You're pathetic, you know that?" he jibes at him.

No response.

"And you're such a baby! If you can't have it your way, then you throw a fit, go off by yourself, and sulk! You're worse than Atilea!" H'cirlu jibes again.

Still nothing.

"Humph. I don't know why I even bother talking to you. I get better conversation out of a rock!" H'cirlu states blandly and turns to the nearest rock. "Hello, rock! How are you?"

H'cirlu, Dod! There has been a change of plan, but I must warn you….

"Hello, boys! Did ya miss me?" comes Atilea's voice, almost out of nowhere. H'cirlu turns in time to see a rather large rock a mere two inches from his head. Dod looks up surprised to see his own rock a couple of inches away from his head also. The rocks collide with their intended targets with full force, sending them sprawling across the terrain several yards.

Dod starts to pick himself up and turns to see a purple fist slam into his face. He rolls across the ground a few more feet and ends up face down in the virtual dirt.

H'cirlu starts to roll over, but a foot to the side of the head sends him right back where he came from. He frowns and spins on the ground, then hops up, but is met by a black boot to his face. He falls backwards and bounces a couple of times on the ground.

"How's that for payback!" shouts Odd defiantly at his twin, who is now picking himself up off the ground and rubbing is cheek with the back of his left hand. Dod turns his eyes and stares at Odd in shock.

Aelita steps closer to Odd and whispers, "You've been waiting to do that for a while, haven't you?" Odd smiles and replies, "You have no idea how good that felt, Aelita!"

H'cirlu stands and squints through only one eye to see Yumi lower her foot slowly to the ground from where it hung in the air after she kicked him in the face. He stares at the two, shocked that they are here.

"Good job, Yumi! Nice kick!" Ulrich praises and gives her an approving smile. "Well, I did have a great teacher!" Yumi replies and winks at him.

Then, Dod and H'cirlu see Atilea standing with the four. Dod's jaw drops and stares at her in disbelief. H'cirlu blinks in utter incomprehension. Atilea gives them a defiant smile and crosses her arms. "What's the matter? You two act as is you've never seen me before!" she remarks.

Dod shakes his head to help his mind come back to reality. "Atilea! Wha—what are you doing!" he stammers. "Yeah! Why did you attack us?" chimes in an equally befuddled H'cirlu.

Atilea's smile turns to a frown and narrows her eyes at the pair. "I'm doing what I know is right. Not what X.A.N.A. tells me is right!"

Then an audible voice booms from overhead, startling everyone except a strangely confident Atilea.

_Why have you forsaken me, my Child?_

Atilea looks skyward and replies, "You mean you don't know? What's the matter? Can't you look into my mind and find out?" There is a pause before the reply resounds across the terrain.

_I gave you life, my Beloved. Is this how you thank me?_

"You may have created this body, but it was the five people I was told to hate that showed me what real life is," she replies without missing a beat. "And furthermore, I'm not _your Beloved_ anymore! Or your child! I have a real family that truly cares for me!"

_Do they really? What do you have as proof, other than their word, that they 'care' for you, My Beloved? Has any of them expressed in action that they do? If so, what have you done to deserve such treatment? Are you really deserving of their so-called kindness?_

Atilea feels her confidence start to falter. "I…uh," She closes her eyes tightly, running the memories of her, Ulrich, and Yumi at the Hermitage and ledge, trying to keep herself from doubting her stance and herself. Then she feels a hand gently rest on her shoulder. She turns to see a smiling Aelita give her a reassuring nod. Atilea smiles back at her big sister and feels her confidence return.

"I've declared that I will defend the real world from you, X.A.N.A.! I won't let you destroy the thing that I have come to cherish and adore!" Atilea exclaims boldly. Then, the voice becomes more sinister.

_Need I remind you that you bare my symbol, you impetuous and impudent child?_

Suddenly, Atilea grows wide-eyed just before she screams in pain and falls to the ground, clutching her chest. Yumi and Aelita instantly move to her side and see X.A.N.A.'s symbol glowing brightly from underneath her shirt as she reaches up to clutch her head. Atilea screams again and curls up into a ball.

_I OWN you! There is no defying me! You WILL obey me or you will suffer! You have NO freedom outside what I dictate!_

"Jeremie! Can you do anything?" Yumi asks quickly.

Jeremie types frantically and grits his teeth. "I'm trying! But X.A.N.A.'s link to her is… well, deeply ingrained in her digital DNA! I don't know if I can do anything! You'll have to distract him away from her!"

Odd shifts uneasily, watching both Atilea and his now angry twin. "Serves you right, Atilea! I hope you suffer immensely!" Dod bellows. Then, Odd gets an idea. "Hey, Jeremie! What's the one thing X.A.N.A. hates us doing?"

Jeremie pauses and looks at the screen in confusion. "Um, everything?" he replies quizzically. "Well, I can't argue with that, but I was looking for something a little more specific. Let me narrow it down for you. What thing out of all X.A.N.A.'s toys does he hate us messing with the most?" Odd states, forming a grin on his face.

Jeremie pauses in thought but then it hits him. "The towers! Of course! Great idea, Odd!" Jeremie exclaims. Ulrich glances over at Odd and smiles. "Wow, Odd actually had a good idea!" he jokes.

_H'cirlu, Dod, stop them. I will handle the one that is trying to activate a tower,_ X.A.N.A. commands and releases Atilea. She buries her face in Yumi's chest, sobbing. "Odd, get ready! Yumi, we could use you!" Ulrich says clutching his katana firmly and watching his twin reach and pull out his short sword.

Dod turns to look at Odd and frowns. "Humph. I guess I'm stuck with the scrawny and weak version of me." Odd frowns and replies, "I'm not scrawny! Svelte! I'm svelte! Get it right!"

Yumi gets Atilea to calm down and hands her to Aelita, then stands. "Well, this didn't go as planned…" she grumbles. "Maybe not totally. Atilea's sneak attack idea did work, even if didn't last long," Aelita remarks. "Thanks, Sis," Atilea states gratefully and tries to sit up, but stops due to a sudden pang in her chest. "Take it easy. You took quite a shock," Aelita says gently helping her sit up.

"Odd, get ready for 'Mr. Switch'!" Ulrich says. H'cirlu gives Ulrich a quizzical look. That name wasn't in Ulrich's memories, so who could that be? Odd glances over at Ulrich and nods once. Yumi sees this and wonders what the two are doing. _Please don't let them do anything stupid!_ she thinks to herself.

Jeremie finishes activating a tower in the Mountain Sector and smiles as he sees X.A.N.A. try to take it over. "Well, at least I can count on X.A.N.A. being as predicable as always!" he says to himself. "Let's see if I can make this more of a challenge for you, X.A.N.A!" Jeremie says and begins to type away at the keyboard.

Yumi watches intensely as the two pairs of boys stand-off against each other. She grips her tessen fans, ready to throw them at a moment's notice. Then she sees a flick of movement out of the corner of her eye. Suddenly, a large tessen fan flies in toward Ulrich's head, but Yumi tosses her own and knocks it off it's flight path. Yumi's fan returns to her and she turns to see a charging Imuy coming straight for them.

"Look who decided to join us!" Yumi says, readying herself. Atilea frowns and clinches her fists. "Dang. The ice didn't last as long as I hoped!" she states disappointedly. "Well, it did buy us some time," Aelita informs, gently patting her shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself." Atilea smiles at her and replies, "I guess it did. Thanks." She begins to stand slowly and Aelita watches her carefully, ready to catch her if she fell.

Imuy tosses her other fan as she psychokinetically brings her first fan back to her hand. Yumi dodges the fan and tosses her own. Imuy deflects the incoming fan and catches her returning fan.

"MR. SWITCH!" yells Ulrich suddenly, causing everyone except him and Odd to pause in wonder. Odd suddenly turns and fires three laser arrows at Imuy, hitting her stunned form squarely in the chest. She stumbles backwards and falls to the ground. "That was for Kiwi!" he yells at her and sprints towards her. Yumi looks baffled at him and sees Ulrich slam a foot into Dod's side. "So that's what he meant by Mr. Switch!" she whispers to herself and smiles slightly. "Good job, Babe!" She turns to face H'cirlu and raises her fans. H'cirlu looks at her blankly and then narrows his eyes.

Imuy stands, clutching her chest with one hand and looks up in time to block four more of Odd's laser arrows. "Why you…!" she growls at him. She tosses her fan at him but he dodges it and fires two more times. Imuy acrobatically jumps to dodge the arrows and lands, catching her returning fan at the same time.

Ulrich deflects two swipes of Dod's claws and super-sprints around behind him. "Hold still!" Dod growls angrily. He fires two shots of his own laser arrows at Ulrich but the laser arrows get blocked easily. Ulrich smirks as Dod clinches his fists in frustration. Dod suddenly fires several successive laser arrows which Ulrich blocks again with little effort.

"You know, I figured you would have known that Odd is not much of a match for me, since you have his memories and all, " Ulrich taunts. Dod frowns and realizes Ulrich is right. "Fine. You are right about Odd not being much of a match for you, but I'm not Odd! I'm better than Odd!" Dod replies and holds up a fist in front of him. He points it at Ulrich and narrows his eyes evilly. "Shotgun!" Dod yells and fires, sending several laser arrows simultaneously in a cluster. Ulrich's eyes bulge and he super-sprints out of the way of the projectiles. "Whoa! That's new!" he whispers to himself.

"Double barrel shotgun!" Dod shouts and fires both of his laser arrow launchers at the same time, sending double the number of laser arrows. "Oh, geez!" Ulrich exclaims and dives behind a boulder. He hears most of the arrows slam into the opposite side of the boulder and hears the rest whiz by, missing the boulder. "Ok, there's another new ability. Wonder what else he's got?" Ulrich muses.

"Come out, Ulrich! What's the matter? Finding me not so much of a weakling?" Dod taunts trying to draw Ulrich out. "Why don't you come here instead?" Ulrich replies. Dod smiles and cocks both his laser arrow launchers. "You'd love that, wouldn't you? Well, too bad, Ulrich! That boulder won't protect you for much longer, so it really doesn't matter what you do! If you won't move from the boulder, then I'll move the boulder from you!" Dod says as he takes aim. Ulrich wonders what he means by that and peeks around the edge of the boulder.

"FULL AUTO!" Dod shouts and fires. Suddenly, a constant stream of laser arrows shoots from both of Dod's launchers. Ulrich notices that his cover is being steadily whittled away and super-sprints away, with Dod following his movements, still firing his laser arrows on full auto. Ulrich desperately tries to stay ahead of the laser arrows as Dod begins to laugh maniacally.

Meanwhile, Yumi finds that H'cirlu has pulled out one of his own tricks. She blocks a strike from his sword and dodges a kick. He swings for her again and she blocks it, but then he disappears. "Wha--?" she starts but suddenly hears something behind her. She turns in just enough time to back flip away from an incoming shuriken. H'cirlu leaps toward her kicking and she blocks his foot but then he disappears again. Yumi whirls around, frantically looking to see where he went. "Yumi! Look out! Above you!" exclaims Jeremie. Yumi looks up in time to jump out of the way. H'cirlu lands right where she once stood, slamming his sword into the ground. He stands as a he pulls the sword out of the ground and charges her. She blocks his two attacks but then he disappears again. "Not again!" she says looking around. "Yoo-hoo…!" she hears and ducks just as his sword swings toward her head from behind her. "How did he--? No way he's that fast!" Yumi exclaims.

H'cirlu throws another shuriken and she back flips twice, watching the shuriken fly mere inches past her face. Suddenly, in the middle of a third back flip, a foot slams into the middle of her back, causing her to stop instantly. Then, a foot to the side of her head sends her head first to the ground hard. Yumi bounces a couple of times before ending up face down in the dirt.

"You're not really that tough. No wonder Ulrich stopped training you," states H'cirlu coldly, looking down at her. Yumi stirs and gets on all fours. "Yeah? Well, FYI, your memories that you stole are outdated!" she retorts and stands shakily. "And just so you know, I'm not going to fall for any of your memory games!" H'cirlu smirks and crosses his arms. "Humph. Well, I admire your spirit, but I don't really blame you for not wanting to face the truth about Ulrich."

Yumi frowns and opens her fans. "Maybe you need to clean out your ears! I said I'm not going to fall for any memory games! You're not going to shake my trust in Ulrich!" He shrugs and replies, "How very loyal of you, sticking by him, even when you willingly blind yourself to all that he has done. Now, I'm sure that you're going to say that there is nothing hidden between the two of you, and for the most part, you are right. But I wonder if he's told you everything. Oh, wait—I can answer that: no he hasn't! For example, there is something he did with Sissi quite a while back…"

Suddenly, H'cirlu sees a tessen fan flying towards his head. He instantly pulls out a needle-like shuriken and deflects it. Then, he sees a foot coming at him from the corner of his left eye. He instantly raises his arms to block the kick. Yumi's leg slams into H'cirlu's arms full force and he slides backward several feet due to the inertia of the kick.

"SHUT UP!" Yumi yells and charges him. H'cirlu peeks over his raised arms and smiles slyly. "That got her angry!" he whispers, satisfied. Yumi swipes an open fan at his head and he dodges it. Then, he disappears again right in front of her. Yumi stops in shock at his disappearance. She turns to see him falling towards her, ready to plunge his sword into her. She freezes at the sight. Suddenly a large rock smacks into him and the rock and H'cirlu crashes to the ground several feet away. Yumi turns and looks to see Atilea smile at her and give her a thumbs up. Yumi returns the smile and thanks her silently.

Ulrich reaches another boulder and ducks behind it. Dod finally stops firing and watches the boulder, curious to see what Ulrich will do next. After a brief pause, three Ulrichs step cautiously out from behind the boulder, two on the opposite sides of the boulder and the third from over the top of the boulder. Dod smiles wickedly, enjoying himself thoroughly. "You know, I'm glad you decided to do something different. I was really hoping that you weren't going to just run around all day!" Dod says, watching the Ulrichs carefully, waiting for them to make the first move. "Now tell me, what do you hope to accomplish by using your Triplicate technique?"

The three Ulrichs frown and unsheathe their katanas simultaneously, but remain silent. Dod eyes each one, studying each thoroughly. "Wonder which one of you is the real one? Hmm…" Dod ponders out loud.

"Why don't you come on over here and find out?" taunts the left Ulrich. "Yeah? Why don't ya? You're not afraid, are you?" joins in the right Ulrich without missing a beat.

Dod's blank face turns into a scowl and he raises both arms, pointing them in the direction of the Ulrichs. "Afraid? Me, afraid? Never!" he growls detestful. "Double barrel oomph!" Dod starts but is cut off by a rock smacking him in the back of the head. He falls forward face-first onto the ground. All three Ulrichs looks past Dod surprised and sees Atilea do a victory jump. He chuckles at her and gives her a thumbs up. Then, the three Ulrichs charge Dod as he begins to pick himself up, groaning.

Atilea turns to Aelita, smiling big. Aelita nods to her approvingly and turns to see Odd dodge one of Imuy's fans. He fires twice but the shots are blocked. "Odd looks like he could use a little help too," Aelita notes and Atilea nods in agreement.

Odd hops up on the side of a boulder and fires a laser arrow at Imuy. She leaps up towards him as she deflects the arrow. Odd leaps up and off the boulder just as Imuy swipes her fan at him. He fires twice and nails her in the head as he flies over her. Imuy smacks into the face of the boulder from the laser arrows and falls to the ground hard. Odd lands a few feet away from her and sees her begin to pick herself up. He takes aim and Imuy opens a fan and reaches to her opposite side. Then, her fan begins to glow white and gather energy. Odd watches curiously as the fan grows brighter.

"Triple Energy Fan!" Imuy shouts suddenly and throws the fan at him. Suddenly, two energy copies of the fan trail behind the first, original fan. "Oh, crap!" Odd exclaims and ducks out of the way. The original fan flies past him, but Odd notices the two energy copies have diverted their course towards him. "Oh, boy! They're homing in on me!" Odd states and scrambles to get out of the way. He leaps up just as the first energy copy slams into the ground. He lands and rolls away, then turns to see the second turn to follow him. "Now this isn't fair!" he says turning and running towards a boulder. Then an idea pops into his mind.

Odd suddenly veers towards Imuy and begins repeatedly firing at her, letting her be distracted by blocking his shots. _My only hope is she is angry enough not to figure out what I'm doing!_ Odd thinks to himself as he sprints towards her. _Just a few more steps!_ Imuy grits her teeth in anger, oblivious to what Odd is doing. She continues to block his shots and frantically tries to find an opening in his attack so she can launch another fan at him. Suddenly, Odd leaps up and Imuy realizes what he was doing. She yelps in surprise as the energy fan suddenly appears where Odd once stood. She has no time to block or dodge the energy fan and it slams into her full force. She screams and flies backwards into the boulder. She bounces off the boulder and lands face down on the ground.

Odd lands and looks up to see her lay on the ground motionless. "Whew! That was close!" he states wiping his brow. Then, Imuy groans and her head begins to move. "Aw, come on! What's it take to put'em down?" Odd exclaims, mildly exasperated. "Well, uh, according to my calculations, they have roughly triple the amount of life-points you have," Jeremie states, slightly depressed.

Yumi gasps in awe. "You're kidding!" she utters. "Afraid not, Yumi. X.A.N.A. designed them to be durable," Jeremie replies. Ulrich frowns and watches Dod carefully as he begins to rub his head. "So basically we can take a lickin' and keep on tickin', as the saying goes!" pipes up Atilea. "However, at this point, we are not fully powered up to our maximum. We're roughly 75 percent," she continues, glancing over at H'cirlu. Then Atilea's smile turns into a frown. "But, for me, this is going to be my maximum. Since I've changed sides in this war, X.A.N.A. won't impart in me the last twenty-five percent. I won't be able to keep up with them. I'm sorry," she says sadly and hangs her head slightly.

Aelita places a hand on her sister's shoulder and Atilea turns her head to look at her. "Well, personally, I'd rather have you on our side at seventy-five percent than at one hundred percent on X.A.N.A.'s side," Aelita says reassuringly. "Yeah, besides, on our side, you have a guarantee of a future. With X.A.N.A., who knows?" Ulrich chimes in.

"Um, guys, I hate to break up this little pep-o-rally, but X.A.N.A.'s about to take over the tower I activated!" Jeremie informs. "Aelita, I'll need you to de-activate it when he does. Can you guys take care of the twins quickly so Aelita won't have to go alone?"

"Well, that really depends on them, Jeremie. I'm sure we could if they stayed unconscious long enough, but they have a nasty habit of waking up quickly!" Odd quips sarcastically. Ulrich frowns at Odd and replies, "We'll try, Jeremie. What are their current life-points?"

Jeremie types quickly and the requested information pops up on the screen. "Imuy has 195, H'cirlu has a sizable 245, and Dod has 220 left," he replies. Odd winces and states, "Great. All of them have over half of their life-points left. Wonderful."

Atilea glances at Aelita and then around to the rest of the group. She curls her hands into fists and places them side by side and touching. Then, she concentrates as she moves them away from each other in a straight line, careful not to let her hands move vertically at all. She stretches her hands out as far as she can and a long pole forms the full length between them. She grasps the pole and smiles satisfied at it. Atilea then turns to Aelita and hands her the pole. "Here, Sis, take this. It'll help you out," she says. Aelita eyes the pole, nervously. "Well, I—I don't really know how to use it…" Aelita starts but then the temptation to take it overcomes her. She takes the pole from Atilea and swings it a couple of times. "Try using it the same way Ulrich uses his bo staff when he trains," Yumi suggests.

Aelita looks up at her and frowns. "But I've only see him use his bo staff only once!" she says. "And that was when we were still looking for the data for the First Seal! Besides, I'm not really comfortable using weapons." Atilea sighs and replies, "You've used Yumi's fans before. And you even punched me in the face! You're telling me you're not comfortable using weapons? Somehow, I don't believe that, Sis. Sorry."

Aelita looks at her and realizes she is right. "Ok, you win. I'll give it a try. But if I don't like it, then I'm dropping it!" she informs firmly. Atilea smiles and gently pats Aelita's shoulder.

Suddenly Imuy lunges at Odd and he instantly whirls around firing. His shots strike Imuy head-on and she falls to the ground, clutching her chest in pain. She picks herself up slowly and gets ready to toss a fan at him when H'cirlu yells at her. "Imuy! Stop! Don't attack him!" She stops and looks at him curiously.

"Why?" she asks wondering why he stopped her. Dod raises an eyebrow and sees H'cirlu point in the general direction of Aelita and Atilea. He begins to chuckle. "Ah, I see where you're going with this," Dod states and cocks his laser arrow launchers. H'cirlu turns his head to look at him and smiles deviously. "On three," H'cirlu tells him and Dod nods.

The three Ulrichs shift uneasily and watches them intently. "Be careful! I think they are going for Aelita!" the center Ulrich states. Odd narrows his eyes and keeps Imuy in his sights. Yumi growls in anger and opens her fans, ready to throw them. Atilea moves closer to her sister and forms two short poles about a foot and a half long each in each hand. "Stay behind me, Aelita!" she says and grits her teeth, ready to take on anyone who tries to hurt Aelita. Aelita nods and watches the twins carefully.

"One…" H'cirlu says.

Odd's tail begins to twitch faster with anticipation, similar to a cat's tail when the cat is ready to pounce on its prey.

"Two…"

Yumi sets her sights on H'cirlu and prepares to launch her fans at him.

"Three!" H'cirlu shouts and suddenly disappears, causing Yumi to freeze for a second.

Atilea hears something to her left and turns to see H'cirlu land slightly behind her and smiles at her evilly. Then she feels a kick to her middle that sends her flying backwards. Aelita gasps as she realizes what just happened. H'cirlu vanishes again and appears above the airborne Atilea.

The three Ulrichs instantly super-sprint after his twin and Odd tries to hit H'cirlu with a couple of laser arrows, but misses badly. Yumi runs to Aelita and sees Dod and Imuy take off after Atilea.

H'cirlu back fists Atilea and she crashes into the ground. She skids along the ground and Dod fires his "shotgun" laser arrow twice, striking her both times. Imuy launches a fan and hits her, causing her to veer off and smack into a boulder. Atilea tries to stand, but a swipe of Dod's claws sends her right back to the ground, screaming in pain.

"We've got to help her!" Yumi exclaims to Aelita and takes off toward the mob of twins. Aelita hesitates for a second before her mind finally gets her body to obey, then takes off behind Yumi.

H'cirlu jabs a shuriken into Atilea's collar and she screams. He knees her in the stomach and she doubles over. Then he grabs her arm and swings her around to the opposite side of him, slamming her face into the boulder. "Three round burst!" Dod shouts and a quick succession of three laser arrows fire towards Atilea's back. They find their mark and she yelps. H'cirlu smiles and raises another needlelike shuriken, ready to plunge it into the back of her neck.

Suddenly, Dod feels three strikes of a sword across his back. He freezes in pain and sees two Ulrichs suddenly appear before him. Then, Odd appears and fires directly into his face. Dod yelps and falls backwards. Imuy suddenly finds herself unarmed and staring down a very angry Ulrich. "Fusion," he commands and she sees two copies of Ulrich suddenly whiz past her and meld with him. He frowns and narrows his eyes. Suddenly, Imuy has the sensation of flying and realizes that she is airborne. She tries to maneuver around so she can see Ulrich but realizes that he is next to her. Then she feels his katana strike her across her midsection. Imuy yells in pain and crashes to the ground. H'cirlu, seeing his comrades being attacked, pauses for a second but then snaps back and thrusts the shuriken toward Atilea's neck. Suddenly, the shuriken stops short of its target. He blinks in confusion and sees Yumi's fan blocking the path. He turns in surprise to see her straining against his strength as she protects Atilea's neck. Then she smiles and he freezes, baffled by her sudden change in attitude.

Then, H'cirlu feels something smash into the side of his head. He smacks into the boulder and lets Atilea go, allowing her to slump to the ground crying. He stumbles around, holding his head and trying to regain his balance. Then, the same something hits him again in the other side of the head. He rolls a couple of times along the boulder before reaching the end of the boulder and falling to the ground. He starts to pick himself up but feels something hit him in the face, sending him flipping completely over, causing him to land on his back hard. H'cirlu manages to open his eyes and sees, much to his dismay, Aelita holding some sort of staff above him. She frowns angrily down at him and jabs the end of her pole onto his chest.

Jeremie nearly falls out of his seat after witnessing this amazing battle. He then sees X.A.N.A. give up on taking over the tower he activated. "Now where are you going?" Jeremie mumbles and starts typing once again.

Yumi takes Atilea's limp, crying form in her arms and cradles her as Atilea continues to sob in pain. Atilea turns and buries her face in Yumi's chest and causes the shuriken that is still in her collar to poke Yumi. Yumi yips and gently turns Atilea onto her back and Atilea opens her eyes to look up at Yumi thankfully.

"This thing's gotta come out," Yumi states pointing at the shuriken. Atilea glances down at it and winces, but nods. Ulrich walks over to them and sees Yumi having a difficult time getting herself to pull out the shuriken. "Something wrong, Yumi?" he asks as Odd steps up behind him and peers over his shoulder.

Yumi glances up at him. "I, uh…" she starts and looks back down at Atilea. "I'm having trouble actually trying to pull this thing out!" she finally continues pointing at the shuriken. "It's not that I think blood is going to come gushing out, because we don't have blood here, but I'm just… don't want to cause her anymore pain…."

"Want me to do it?" Ulrich asks kneeling down next to Atilea. Yumi nods and takes Atilea's hand. "Now, just squeeze when it hurts…" Yumi says to her and Atilea nods as Ulrich reaches over to take hold of the shuriken. "I'm not going to lie. This will hurt," he says to Atilea. She nods and closes her eyes tightly. Then, in one quick jerk, Ulrich yanks out the offending shuriken. Atilea yelps and Yumi grits her teeth in pain as Atilea squeezes her hand hard. Finally, the pain subsides a little in Atilea's shoulder and lets go of Yumi's hand. Yumi shakes her hand and mouths "ouch", causing Ulrich to chuckle slightly at her.

Ulrich looks at the shuriken curiously and then at Atilea. Yumi helps her sit up and receives a hug from her. Ulrich rolls the shuriken around in between his thumb and forefinger, examining it thoroughly. "Thank you, Ulrich. I feel better now that thing is out of me," he hears Atilea say thankfully and he smiles at her. Then he tosses the shuriken on the ground and stands.

Aelita glances up at Ulrich and Odd as they step over to her. "Looks live we've got a live one, Cap'n!" Odd says to Ulrich in a heavy fake Scottish accent. Ulrich gives him a baffled look chooses not to say anything to him. "Um, Yumi, what about the other two?" he asks her, talking past Odd and his chuckling. Yumi helps Atilea stand, letting her lean against her for support. "They're taking a little nap. They shouldn't be any trouble for a while," Yumi replies and carefully helps Atilea walk over to them.

Ulrich nods and then kneels down to H'cirlu. H'cirlu looks up at him and frowns. "You won't be able to keep me here for very long!" he says defiantly. Aelita presses her staff down onto H'cirlu's chest, causing him to flinch in pain. "Behave," she states authoritatively. Odd kneels down next to Ulrich and grins at H'cirlu. "Dang! Aelita put the smack down on you!" Odd says chuckling. H'cirlu growls at him and Ulrich gently shoves him away. "Ok, that's enough, Odd. I'm sure he knows that," Ulrich says.

Jeremie finally catches up to X.A.N.A. and sees him activate a tower. "Hey, guys, I'm not sure what you are doing, but hurry it up. X.A.N.A. just activated a tower on the other side of the sector!" he says. "Thanks, Jeremie. Aelita, we have to get you to the tower! Jeremie needs you to deactivate it," informs Yumi. Aelita glances at her quickly and purses her lips. "What about him?" she asks indicating H'cirlu.

"Don't worry. I'll watch'em," Ulrich says smiling. "Yumi and Odd can get you there just fine. Atilea can stay here as well, if she wants." Atilea looks at him and then at Yumi. Yumi frowns and sighs, but reluctantly agrees. Ulrich draws his katana as Aelita removes her staff from H'cirlu's chest. Ulrich lays the sharp edge of his katana on H'cirlu's neck gently to keep him lying down. Yumi turns to Atilea and asks, "Well, coming or staying?" Atilea ponders for a second, then answers, "I'll stay. If H'cirlu gets unruly, Ulrich may need what ever help I can give." Yumi nods and turns to Odd and Aelita. "Ready you two?" she asks and the pair nod.

"The tower's on the other side of the sector! You'll have to hurry before X.A.N.A. has time to do anything," Jeremie instructs. "But to help you get there, here comes the vehicles!" They turn to see the Overboard and Overwing pilot up to them, both surrounded by a green glow, The glow fades away once the vehicles have stopped. "Whoa, did you do that, Jeremie?" Odd asks, impressed.

Jeremie smiles and replies, "Yes, it was me! I partially figured out how to take control over things. Granted, at this point, it's only the vehicles, but it is a start!" Odd hops onto his Overboard and grins ear to ear. "Too cool, Jeremie! You rock!" he replies. Yumi and Aelita hop onto the Overwing and the trio takes off across the desert, leaving Ulrich, Atilea, and a temporarily immobile H'cirlu behind. Ulrich watches them leave out of the corner of his eye and silently tells Yumi to be careful.

Atilea slowly slumps to the ground and leans against the boulder, watching H'cirlu. Ulrich frowns at his twin and begins wondering what to do next. H'cirlu looks up at him, then gets a wily grin on his face that makes Ulrich take notice. "So, you've gotten me under the knife, of sorts. What now?" he asks. Ulrich just sates blankly back at him.

"You know, Yumi got really upset when I mentioned Sissi to her," H'cirlu continues. "So? That's not surprising. Sissi can be a big pain," Ulrich replies dryly. H'cirlu chuckles and says, "Oh, well, yes, but maybe I should rephrase that. Maybe I should have said that Yumi got upset when I mentioned YOU and Sissi." Ulrich frowns and replies, "There's nothing between Sissi and me." H'cirlu smiles deviously. "Except one little thing you haven't told Yumi." Ulrich blinks in mild confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on now! Don't tell me you've forgotten!"

"Forgotten what? Tell me!"

Atilea realizes H'cirlu is messing with Ulrich's mind and is winning. She painfully starts to get on all fours.

H'cirlu smiles devilishly and chuckles. "Heh, you really have forgot what you and her did, haven't you?"

Ulrich gives him a shocked look. "I've never done anything with Sissi!"

"Oh? Then tell me why you haven't told Yumi about the little sleepover thing you had?"

Ulrich grows angry and begins to press down on the blade of the katana. "I have NEVER slept with Sissi!" he bellows at him. "NEVER have, NEVER will!"

H'cirlu strains against the pain in his neck from where the katana slowly digs into him. "Oh? Was it really that bad of an experience that your mind shoved it out of your conscious thought?"

Ulrich leans down closer to his twin's face. "I'm not going to listen to your lies! All you are doing is taking some of my memories and twisting them into something that never happened!" Ulrich barks at him.

"You'd love to believe that, wouldn't you?" H'cirlu replies. "Oh, well. One of these days, maybe you'll come to terms with what you did! Just imagine how Yumi would feel when she finds out! Better yet, what would your father think if he ever found out?"

Ulrich almost shoves the blade into H'cirlu's neck but suddenly hears a voice from beside him. "Ulrich! Listen to me! He _is_ playing with your mind! Just ignore him!" Atilea says firmly to him. Ulrich turns suddenly to see her sitting next to him, looking at him caringly. He blinks several times and exhales heavily, feeling the weight of the situation lift from his shoulders.

"Thanks, Atilea. I was beginning to loose it for a moment there," Ulrich says to her thankfully. She smiles and gently touches his shoulder warmly. H'cirlu frowns in disgust as he sees his plan fall apart in front of him. Then he sees an opportunity to escape when Ulrich watches Atilea begin to crawl away from his side.

Ulrich suddenly feels something hit him in the head and he falls backwards. H'cirlu smiles as he quickly flips up onto his feet. "Not too bad, don't ya think? Kneeing you in the head after seeing you being distracted by that traitor! It was just classic! You know, I thought you'd pay better attention than that!" H'cirlu states grinning.

Ulrich frowns and stands, raising his katana. H'cirlu draws his short sword and another needlelike shuriken. "Are you ready for round two, Ulrich?" H'cirlu says smirking. "Don't think that you'll take me out as easily as last time! I've seen all your tricks and I'm ready for anything you throw at me!" Ulrich replies confidently. "Triplicate!" he yells and two copies form on either side of him. H'cirlu smirks and chuckles slightly. "Oh really? You've seen all my tricks, huh? Well, it's good thing that I saved the best for last!"

H'cirlu then hides the shuriken and sheathes his sword. He stretches his hands across his body and shapes his first two fingers on each hand in a claw like form. Ulrich watches him as a red glow forms around his body. "TRI-FORM!" H'cirlu yells and suddenly two copies of himself slides outward from him, as if they were standing there all the time. Then the three H'cirlus drop their hands and all smile evilly at him.

The center H'cirlu glances at the H'cirlu one either side of him. "Well, fancy meeting me and me here!" he says chuckling. The right one turns and chuckles. "Likewise," he says crossing his arms. The left one points his thumb at Ulrich and says, "Hey, look, another set of triplets! I betcha I could take them all out by myself!" "What? And not let us have any fun?" the center one asks raising an eyebrow. "Well, we still have her," replies the right one, motioning towards Atilea. She perks up and looks at them nervously. "Hmm, maybe you're right. Three of us, one of her. She's a traitor that is weak," the center H'cirlu states thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. " And vulnerable! We could have fun with her in more than one way!" Atilea gets a scared look on her face and slides away until she runs into the boulder. "Dude, no. That's bad. We should just take her out and be done with it," the left H'cirlu replies frowning in disgust.

"You know, I'm standing right here," Ulrich pipes up. The three H'cirlus turn and regard him uninterestedly. "Yeah, and?" the center H'cirlu asks blandly. "It's not like you can really do anything to us. We outclass you in this form." Atilea realizes he is right and stands, then moves next to the leftmost Ulrich. "Maybe on his own , but with me on his side, you are the one that is outclassed!" she says confidently as she forms two escrima sticks in her hands. The three Ulrichs turn and smile at her, then they adopt fighting stances.

The three H'cirlus frown in annoyance. "Humph. Bold words for such a little girl," the left H'cirlu says coldly. Then, Atilea notices that something is different about them. She studies them and sees that X.A.N.A.'s symbol has appeared on their chest and is pulsating. "Oh, no…." she says, realizing what is going on.

"What's wrong?" the Ulrich nearest to her asks. "X.A.N.A. I think he's infusing him with last twenty-five percent of power!" she replies. "So that's why they haven't attacked yet!" the center Ulrich says. "We can't let the process finish!" the right Ulrich chimes in. Suddenly, the three Ulrichs super-sprint away in different directions.

The center H'cirlu growls in frustration. "Crud. I was hoping they wouldn't figure it out! Fine, we'll wait till later to finish the transfer. Split up, take each of the Ulrich copies on one at a time!" he commands and the other two nod.

Atilea watches in amazement at the incredible display of speed and skill of all six fighters. "I gotta figure out a way to help Ulrich. There's no way I can move at those speeds, especially since H'cirlu can teleport! Maybe, I can slow H'cirlu up a bit…" she ponders and tries to concentrate on one of the H'cirlu copies.

One of the H'cirlu copies blocks an attack from the Ulrich copy. Then, he jabs it with a small knife, causing the Ulrich copy to fade away. "One down, two to go," he says and searches for another copy to attack.

Meanwhile, Dod begins to stir on the ground, not too far away. "Ugh, my head…." he states wearily and gets up on all fours. Then he spots five dark blurs fighting each other. "Geez. What did I miss?" he asks himself and stands slowly. Then, he sees Atilea near the scene and narrows his eyes in anger. A noise from behind him catches his attention and he turns to see an unsteady Imuy stand, using a rock to help her up.

Atilea sees an opening and raises her hand. Suddenly, one of the H'cirlu copies finds his feet incased in rock. He falls forward and smacks into the ground. A copy of Ulrich sprints over and stabs it in the back. The H'cirlu copy yells in pain and then swings his arm, knocking the Ulrich clone of his feet. The Ulrich clone looks confused and wonders why the H'cirlu copy didn't fade away. Suddenly, a foot slams into the H'cirlu clone that sends him flying towards another clone. The two collide, knocking the two to the ground. The two clones meld together into one being and it sits up, confused about what just happened.

"Why don't you pull yourself together, H'cirlu? You're looking kinda spread thin!" Atilea jibes as the Ulrich copy stands and blinks in confusion. The remaining two H'cirlus turn and look at her angrily. "Stay out of this, Wench! You'll time will come soon enough!" states the closest H'cirlu. "No, let's let those two deal with her. We'll take care of Ulrich ourselves," interjects the other H'cirlu, nodding towards Dod and Imuy.

Atilea turns to see Dod and Imuy up and walking around. Ulrich sees them also and frowns. "I thought for sure they were down for good! Guess we didn't do as much damage to their life points as we thought," Ulrich grumbles and then glances at Atilea. She turns and raises her escrima sticks. "Don't worry about me, Ulrich. I can take these two, no problem!" she optimistically says to him. Ulrich gives her a skeptical look. "Are you sure? You really took a beating…" he states. "True, but I've sparred against these two at the same time before by myself, and won. I can handle'em!" Atilea replies confidently and winks at him.

Dod snorts in disbelief at Atilea's claim. "I let you win. There's no way you can really beat me!" he jibes. Atilea fleers at him and twirls her escrima sticks a couple of times. "Really? Why don't ya come over here and find out, big boy?" she taunts. "You are really that eager to die, aren't you?" Imuy remarks. "Nah, just dyin' to get a little payback!" Atilea replies. "Fine. Let's get it on, Chickie!" Imuy states and charges her.

Atilea deflects two shots from Dod as she blocks Imuy's first attack. She drops to the ground and sweeps Imuy off her feet and lands a hit on the side of Imuy's head. She stands and deflects several shots from Dod before he becomes enraged and charges her. He swipes at her with his claws, but she side-steps to avoid the attack and grabs his wrist. He gets a look of surprise as she swings him around, causing him to collide with a partially standing Imuy.

Ulrich smiles as he watches her, impressed with her skill. Then, he redirects his attention back to the pair of H'cirlus before him. _So, if I can get the two of them to collide with each other, then they'll meld back together into one person. Sounds simple enough,_ he reviews in his mind. _Yeah, easier said than done…_

Then, Ulrich and his copy super-sprints towards the two H'cirlu copies. The left copy tosses a shuriken and phases away, but the Ulrich copy deflects the shuriken, sending in the direction that the copy is phasing back in. The copy gives a look of surprise as he sees the shuriken mere inches from him. It hits him with a solid thunk and he instantly becomes paralyzed. Then, the two Ulrichs attack the final H'cirlu simultaneously.

Meanwhile, Atilea acrobatically flips over Dod's back and lands two hits on Imuy, one on her collar and the other on her neck. Imuy hits the ground in a crumpled heap and lays there motionless. Dod turns and gets kicked in the face. He staggers backwards and fires wildly at Atilea, but the shots miss her drastically. Atilea walks up to him as he drops his hands and begins to sway.

"This is for Odd," Atilea says sternly.

Dod doesn't have the time or energy to react to her attack. She swings twice, one in an downward motion, causing him to bend over and the last strike comes from underneath, straightening him back up. Dod's body lifts up off the ground and he falls back wards, then lands hard on the ground. Atilea looks at his body and sees that he isn't going to get back up. Then, she sees his eyes go completely blank, as if he had no irises or pupils. Atilea's brow crinkles with perplexity, then turns to look at Imuy's eyes and sees that her eyes have done the same. Atilea begins to speculate what this could be, then gets distracted as she hears Ulrich grunt in frustration.

Ulrich slashes at both H'cirlus but they just leap out of the way. "Having trouble are we, Ulrich? Funny how you're not as confident as you were before, especially now that your last copy of yourself has went the way of the Dodo!" quips the right H'cirlu, grinning fiendishly. Ulrich grunts in aggravation and wishes that they would shut up. "Jeremie, what are their life points?" he asks, hoping for some good news.

Jeremie looks up to another window on the screen and replies, "Well, since these clones on his seemingly shares a portion of the original amount of life-points, they both have the equal amount of fifty life points left. You, on the other hand…" "Yes, Jeremie, I get it. Fifty life points each. Thanks," Ulrich interrupts and sees them charge him. Suddenly, the right H'cirlu trips and falls on his face as his feet becomes incased in stone. The other glances back to see what happened, then states, "Oh, geez, not again…." He turns to see Ulrich in the middle of a flying sidekick. The kick lands squarely in his chest and his flies backward, crashing into his other copy. The two meld together and becomes one being once more.

H'cirlu slams a fist onto the ground in frustration. Then he looks up to see Ulrich raise his katana, ready to deal the final blow. He tries to sling a shuriken at him but his hands suddenly becomes incased in ice. H'cirlu looks frantically around, trying to find something he can use to escape with, but all he sees is Atilea walking up next to Ulrich and resting her right arm on his left shoulder, smiling confidently. She drops her arm as Ulrich steps forward and swings the katana.

Atilea kneels down to H'cirlu's motionless body and watches his eyes become blank like Dod's and Imuy's eyes. She frowns and shakes her head, unable to come up with any answer to what this is or what it means. Ulrich kneels down next to her and examines the body, also wondering what has happened to H'cirlu's eyes.

"Imuy's and Dod's eyes did the same thing. I don't know what this means," Atilea states. "I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you, Ulrich."

He waves her apology off with a flick of his hand. "Don't worry about it. The important thing is that we won this round." He turns to look at her. "Are you ok? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

She smiles and slides an arm across his shoulders. "Nah, but they did try. Thanks for caring, Ulrich." She drops her arm and stands, then walks over to where Imuy and Dod lie. Ulrich sighs and stands. "Hey, Jeremie, how's Yumi, Aelita, and Odd doing?" he asks.

Jeremie smiles and replies, "Heh, just great! Aelita has just finished deactivating the tower. They're on their way back to you now. When they get there, I'll start bringing you guys home! Great job, everyone!"

A little while later, Yumi, Aelita, and Odd arrive, waving to Ulrich and Atilea. Yumi and Aelita hop off the Overwing and Odd skids to a stop on his Overboard. Yumi and Ulrich run to each other and collide into a hug. Odd hops off his Overboard and gives Ulrich a huge smile and a thumbs up. Aelita is met by a huge hug from Atilea and nearly looses her balance. She giggles and pats her sister on the back. Then, Odd spots the three motionless bodies of the twins.

"Whoa, what happened here?" he asks walking towards the bodies.

Ulrich and Yumi separate from each other and Ulrich turns to follow him. "Well, I'm not completely sure, but I do know that Atilea and I finally beat them. Then the strangest thing happened," Ulrich says, catching up to him. The two reach the bodies, with the girls following close behind, and they kneel down to Dod's body.

"I wish I were here to see him finally put down," Odd states with a bit of vengefulness in his voice.

"Well, you can ask Atilea all about how he went down. In fact, she took down both Dod _and_ Imuy! Me, well, I just barely took down H'cirlu. Even then, I couldn't have finished the job if she hadn't immobilized his hands and feet," Ulrich replies.

Atilea blushes and smiles modestly as Yumi, Aelita, and Odd turn to look at her in amazement. "I was just backing up the promise I made to you guys, that's all," she says simply.

Then, the three bodies begin to glow a yellowish, golden color and the group instantly moves away from them. "What's going on? What is this?" asks Yumi as the glow slowly becomes brighter.

"I don't know! I've never seen anything like it!" exclaims Aelita in awe. "Neither have I!" adds Jeremie and begins to run an analysis. Aelita turns to Atilea and asks, "And you? Have you seen this before?" All Atilea can do is shake her head "no" as she stares in wonder and awe at the glow.

Suddenly, the bodies begin to disintegrate into tiny glowing balls and begin to float up and away into the Lyokan sky. The group just stares in awe and wonder at this strange and somewhat beautiful sight as the glowing balls float high above their heads until the last glowing ball disappears into the distance.

"Whoa, I couldn't tell whether that was an awesome thing or a bad thing," Odd states, still in a bit of awe. "Or, maybe it was an awesomely bad thing!"

"Whatever it was, it's over now. I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go home," Ulrich says, with an obvious hint of mental and physical exhaustion in his voice.

Yumi walks over to him and wraps her arms around his shoulder from behind him, then kisses his cheek. "Me, too. Jeremie, I think we're ready," she agrees and leans her head against his.

"Wait, what about Atilea? We can't leave her here. When X.A.N.A. wakes up, he'll probably attack her again," Aelita pipes up.

"Jeremie, do you think you can materialize her too?" Yumi asks. Jeremie ponders her question for a moment. "Well, I believe so. I have analyzed her digital DNA enough to send her there, I suppose I could use it again to bring her back," he replies. "Ok, then, let's _all_ go home!" Yumi says and smiles at an obviously relieved Atilea.

Once back in the control room with Jeremie, Aelita nearly tackles him to the ground as she gives him a massive hug and kiss. "Wow, you really missed me that much?" he asks her as he braces himself against the computer chair. She gives him a gleeful giggle and replies, "Of course! Why wouldn't I?"

Yumi and Ulrich, with arms wrapped around each other, interchange experiences, when the team split up after X.A.N.A. activated the tower, with Odd. "So, how much resistance did you guys have going to the tower?" Ulrich asks. "Well, let me tell you, five Krabs and three Mega-tanks is a walk in the park compared to what we've been through here lately!" Odd replies chuckling. Yumi leans her head against Ulrich's and a few strands falls into his mouth, causing him to instinctively spit them out. "Aak! Yumi!" he sputters as she leans up, laughing at him.

"You know Yumi, I love you and your soft hair and the way your hair smells, but I don't love it enough to eat it!" he states jokingly as he pulls a lone strand off his tongue. "It may smell like green apple but it certainly doesn't taste like it!" Yumi laughs and brushes her hair behind her ears with her fingers. "Sorry, Babe! I didn't mean to get it in your mouth!" she apologizes and then nuzzles his neck with her nose and lips. He tries to hold back a giggle to prevent Yumi from realizing she just found a tickle spot on him. Then, Yumi's cell phone rings and she leans up to answer it.

Odd cautiously walks over to Atilea, who has been standing a little bit away from the rest of the group. She sees him coming towards her and tenses up noticeably. He gives her a nervous smile and says, "Relax. I just came over to ask about how Dod was finally beaten." She smiles and relaxes a bit, then begins to retell what she did.

After Atilea finishes, Odd sighs and feels a bit of weight lift off his shoulders. "Thanks, Atilea. I guess you really do mean what you said about helping us fight X.A.N.A."

Atilea smiles at him and replies, "You're welcome, Odd. I hope someday that I will be able to fully enjoy this world like you do."

Odd chuckles. "Well, not all of it is enjoyable. Just wait until you meet Jim and Sissi for real!" he jokes and the two share a laugh together.

"Oh! I gotta make a phone call!" Odd exclaims and pulls out his phone. He turns and walks away as he dials the phone.

Yumi hangs up her phone and gives Ulrich a big grin. "Who was that?" he asks. Yumi gives him a slightly aroused smile and replies, "That was my parents. They are stuck at their hotel for another night!" Ulrich blinks in mild amazement. "Wow. What happened?"

"Well, apparently the new shipment of jet fuel the airport received was tainted. So, all the flights have been grounded for about twenty hours until another shipment comes in!" she replies. "So, I get the house to myself for another night! We should all get together and watch a movie!" Yumi kisses her boyfriend excitedly and squeezes him.

"Sounds like a great idea, Yumi!" agrees Aelita and turns to look at Jeremie who has started to object. He sees her give him a puppy-dog look and caves in. "Uh, sure, why not? After a day like today, I guess we could use a bit of relaxation," he states rubbing his neck. Aelita giggles excitedly and hugs him tightly.

"Odd? What about you?" Ulrich asks. Odd glances up at him, still on the phone with Sam and holds up a finger. "Ok, Sam! Bye!" he says before hanging up. "Well?" Ulrich asks. Odd shrugs and replies, "Um, well, I promised that I would help Sam with a new music video tonight. Maybe next time."

"Are you sure? You can bring her with you if you want," Yumi says. Odd reluctantly shakes his head "no." "Sorry, I promised to help her and this new video has a long ways to go before it is done. She's been anxious to get it done."

"Oh, ok. I'm sure the two of you will get a _lot _of work done tonight, alone together, un-chaperoned!" Yumi teases and Odd blushes. "No! It's not gong to be like that! I mean, yeah we're going to work on it together alone, but we're not gong to do anything else! I would never do anything to her, without her permission first!"

The room fills with chuckling and Ulrich replies, "We know that, Odd. We're just giving you a hard time like you give us." Odd presses his lips together and says, "I know. I guess I'm just a little to protective of her, especially after what nearly happened to…" Odd cuts off his sentence and the room grows quiet.

"We understand Odd. And the invitation is going to be open all night if the two of you decide to come later on, ok?" Yumi says sympathetically. Odd smiles slightly at her and nods.

"Well, it can't be _all_ night, Dear. Tomorrow's a school day and you know how Jim gets," Ulrich points out.

Yumi gets a pout-y look on her face and asks, "Why did you have to bring that up?" "Sorry," he says apologetically.

"Speaking of which, what are we…. um, where is Atilea going to stay? She can't exactly go to the dorms or stay here," Jeremie notes. Yumi turns and ponders the situation. "Well, she can stay at my house tonight, until my parents get home." Atilea thinks for a moment, then comes up with an idea. "What about the Hermitage? I could stay there when Yumi's parents arrive. Besides, Ulrich said you guys wanted to try and clean up the place. I could start doing that, if you wanted, you know, as sort of a rent fee type deal."

Aelita ponders her idea for a moment, then nods. "I don't have a problem with that. After all, my dad left it to me and I can do whatever I choose to do with it." "Technically, your dad did leave it for you, but you don't really take true ownership until you graduate from Kadic…" Jeremie starts but is interrupted by Aelita jamming an elbow into his stomach. "Hey! What was that for?" he asks innocently. She frowns at him and he obediently shuts up.

"You can stay in the Hermitage, Atilea, just be careful. There's a lot of fragile things in there," Aelita says turning to Atilea. Atilea smiles and nods understandingly. "Yeah, and especially watch out for those extremely dangerous termites!" Ulrich jokes. Atilea shoots him an embarrassed and angry glance. "That's not funny! Bugs are gross!" "Yeah! Leave my little sister alone, Ulrich! Or I'll get Yumi to tell us why you got embarrassed earlier today!" threatens Aelita playfully. Ulrich clams up instantly and blushes. He had almost forgotten about that.

"Hey, guys, I'll catch you later! I'm heading over to Sam's place!" Odd says and heads toward the elevator, but then stops. "Hey, is the elevator fixed yet?"

Jeremie shrugs. "I don't know. Try it and see."

The door opens obediently after Odd presses the door button. He smiles and steps in. The group sees him pull his phone out again and begin to dial it as the doors close.

Jeremie slides out of Aelita's hug gently and seats himself back in the computer chair. "Let me finish this before we go." Aelita gives him a skeptical look. "Define 'this' and give me a timeframe until it's done," she says in mild authority. He glances at her as strained giggles resound from behind her. "This, being my plan, and a timeframe is in a couple of minutes. Is that ok?" Aelita glances at the screen and finally nods.

"So what was your plan, Jeremie?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie finishes the line of code and glances at him quickly. "I managed to trick the computer into thinking that the scanners are in a security lock-down mode due to a sudden drop in power. No one in or out of Lyoko. Not even a manual override, except, of course, me!" Atilea walks over and says confusedly, "Wait, the scanners don't have a security lock-down mode…" Jeremie turns and gives her a devious smile. "True, but the computer doesn't know that!" he replies and finishes the program. "There. All done. We can go now."

The group reaches the sewer exit in the forest and climbs out into the afternoon sun. Ulrich takes Yumi's hand and helps her out of the manhole. Then, Jeremie climbs out and assists Aelita in the same manner. Atilea climbs out and waves Ulrich's offer to help off. He shrugs and watches her climb out by herself.

"She needs some new clothes. Those aren't going to last long," he says to Yumi. Yumi nods and replies, "Yeah, I'll see what I can find in my closet." Atilea glances down at her clothes curiously. "Um, ok. I guess these aren't exactly inconspicuous. And they are kinda flimsy," she states indicating a small rip in her skirt tail. "Tough as nails on Lyoko, but weak as a dried leaf here." The group chuckles and begins walking down the path toward town.

"So, what do you guys want to watch tonight?" Yumi asks.

"How about _The Sixth Day_ with Arnold Schwarzenegger?" Ulrich suggests.

Aelita and Jeremie start laughing and Atilea looks at him inquisitively. Yumi ponders his suggestion and slowly nods. "I guess that's kinda appropriate, considering what we've just been through," she answers.

"What's it about?" asks Atilea.

Ulrich gives her a sly smile. "You'll just have to wait and find out!" he answers her and the rest of the group laughs again, leaving her confused and slightly worried. Aelita slides her free arm around her sister and hugs her reassuringly. "Don't worry, it's a good movie! You'll like it," she says.

"Yes, despite it not being exactly scientifically accurate…." Jeremie starts but stops when Aelita pinches his ribs. "Ow! Hey! What was that for?"

"Being too scientific," Aelita replies blandly. "There is a time and place for that, but now isn't the time."

Jeremie gives her a playful hurt look and kisses her. She giggles and squeezes him gently with the arm that is around his waist.

Then, the group continues on towards town, enjoying a well earned victory.

One that won't last long….


	9. The Interim

_**Disclaimer:** I have no ownership of Code Lyoko…_

_Ok, this is just one of those filler chapters; hence the title. Not much goes on, mainly just a bunch of ramblings between various characters. It does give you a glimpse, or rather a partial flashback to something that has happened to our heroes during the First Seal thing. YES, I KNOW THAT IT HASN'T BEEN WRITTEN YET! I plan on writing that after finishing up this one._

_Oh, I hope I don't make anyone upset with my opinion of pickle-loaf._

_Ramble, Ramble…_

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part VII: The Interim**

Odd yawns and stretches his arms as he sits up in his bed. Kiwi perks up once he sees his master is awake and crawls into his lap. Odd smiles at him sleepily and begins to rub his head. Odd glances over to see Ulrich still asleep.

"Whoa, it must be really early if I'm up before him…." Odd whispers to himself. He glances at Ulrich's alarm clock and sees that it is six-thirty in the morning.

"Nope. Not early. He must have forgotten to set his alarm," Odd says gently sitting Kiwi on the floor before standing. He walks over to Ulrich's bed and gently shakes his friend.

"Hey, Ichabod Crane! Wake up!"

Ulrich stirs and mumbles something incoherent.

"Hmm, how does he usually wake me up?" Odd thinks for a moment before finally deciding to wake Ulrich up like his father used to wake him up.

"Private Ulrich Stern! Front and center, Maggot!" Odd bellows in Ulrich's face. Ulrich instantly jolts awake and flails wildly, sending his sheet flying. He sits up, panting hard, with a scared look on his face. Finally, Ulrich's wildly roaming eyes land on Odd's laughing face.

"Dude! What the heck! That's not cool!" Ulrich says exasperated through his panting.

"Well, it woke you up, didn't it?" Odd replies chuckling.

"Wha--?" Ulrich starts and turns to his clock. "What time is—oh, man…" Ulrich buries his face in his hands and groans.

"I tried to wake you nicely, but you just mumbled at me, and yelling was my last resort. Sorry!" Odd says.

"I think I'd rather have Kiwi lick my face…" Ulrich remarks and swings his feet off the edge of his bed.

"I can arrange that!" Odd quips instantly, grinning big.

"Don't you even think about it, Odd," Ulrich replies gruffly. He glances at his clock again. "Dude, why did you get me up this early? It's only six-thirty, and we don't really have to be up until seven." He pauses and gives Odd a curious look. "Come to think of it, why are _you_ up at six-thirty? Usually, you're still asleep at seven and I'm the one waking you up."

Odd shrugs and replies, "Not sure. I guess today is going to be one of those weird days that nothing's gonna be normal."

Ulrich gives him a slight frown and replies, "Odd, I haven't had a normal day since I first set foot inside that factory. Every day's been weird since then!"

Odd chuckles and turns to dig a change of clothes out of his messy dresser. "So, what time did you finally leave Yumi's last night?" he asks holding up a shirt.

Ulrich yawns and stands. "I think it was right around midnight. And I'm not too happy about being abandoned!"

Odd turns and gives him a quizzical look. "Abandoned? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, after you and Sam left, Jeremie took off a little while later, saying something about having to study for a quiz in physics class. Which, by the way, couldn't be true," Ulrich replies walking over to his dresser.

"Yeah, he's supposed to be the brainiac, right?" Odd states.

Ulrich chuckles and replies, "Yeah, that's why I'm kinda curious about why he really left." He pulls out a fresh change of clothes and sets them down on his chair. "After Jeremie left, I was the only guy in the house! You and Jeremie stranded me in a house with three girls! Granted, one of them was Yumi, but still, you two left me there to fend for myself!"

Odd gives him a guilty smile and laughs quietly to himself. "It couldn't have been that bad!" he replies finally. Ulrich gives him a slightly exasperated look and Odd raises an eyebrow. "Or…maybe it could have…" Odd states.

"It was pretty normal for a few minutes, then the three of them suddenly got….um, hyper. Sort of. With Yumi, I know it wasn't hyper-ness, but something else entirely. With Aelita, it was hyper-ness. Actually, it was a sugar rush. She kept eating those lemon candies Yumi had and the sugar went straight to her brain. Now, with Atilea, I couldn't tell if it was the sugar or something else, but she also started getting a little… crazy," Ulrich says sitting down on the foot of his bed.

Odd perks up and turns to him. "Oh, really? Crazy, huh? How so?" Ulrich gives him a curious look, then continues.

"Well, first off, she and Aelita started chatting to each other. Not like you and I are right now. I mean, really fast and almost constant. I didn't realize Aelita could talk that fast and make coherent sentences! But there they were, both of them, jabbering away, ninety to nothing. But at the same time, making sense! Then, Yumi decided to take Atilea upstairs to her room and let her try on some of her old clothes," Ulrich says.

Odd shrugs and states, "That doesn't sound too bad. What's wrong with that?"

Ulrich gives him a strained smile. "Well, nothing, in itself, but under the influence of sugar and… other things, it got… interesting, to say the least. After Yumi helped Atilea pick out an outfit, she'd make her come down and 'model' in front of Aelita and me. Then, soon thereafter, Yumi and Aelita got involved in the fashion show, and started modeling, using me as the 'judge' of sorts. Don't get me wrong, it was nice to see Yumi in other clothes than her usual attire, but seeing Aelita in some of the things she put on, well, made me a bit uncomfortable. I mean, she's Jeremie's girlfriend and he should have been there to see her! Then there was Atilea… I'm not even gonna go there!"

Odd gives him a sly look and replies, "A little embarrassed, were we?" Ulrich shakes his head. "You have no idea. They did that for nearly an hour and a half! I was ready to leave at, like, ten-thirty, but somehow Yumi talks me into staying longer. Things finally calmed down a bit around eleven forty-five and the girls started doing the whole finger and toe-nail polishing thing. I finally left after fifteen minutes of Yumi begging me, shamelessly I might add, to stay longer."

Ulrich begins to stare blankly off into space and Odd grins and chuckles. "Looks like I missed all the fun!" he quips. Ulrich snaps out of his blank stare and retorts, "Heh, I don't know about that. I figure you had your own kind of 'fun' after you and Sam left!" Odd blushes and presses his lips together. "Possibly, but not in the way you imply!"

Ulrich glances at his clock and yawns. "Well, since we're up, we might as well go shower and head to the cafeteria for breakfast."

Odd perks up at the mention of breakfast and dashes for the door while tucking his school clothes under his arm. "Race ya! Last one to the cafeteria gives me their breakfast!"

"Wait a sec. That doesn't make sense. If I lose, you get two meals, mine and yours. If I win, you still get two meals because you'll owe yourself a meal? That's just crazy…" Ulrich replies confusedly. Odd gives him a goofy smile and exits the room laughing. Ulrich realizes that Odd just used his confusion against him and gotten a head start.

Jeremie walks into the cafeteria and glances around the room looking for any of his friends, but mainly for Aelita. He spots Odd and Ulrich sitting at a table across the room and begins to make his way towards them. He takes a seat across from Odd and says, "Good morning, guys. Sleep well?"

Ulrich glances at him and replies, "Not really. Odd, on the other hand, did." Odd gives Jeremie a smile while shoveling another bite into his mouth. Jeremie shudders slightly at Odd's table manners and turns to Ulrich. "Why didn't you get a good night's sleep?" he asks.

Ulrich gives him a strained smile and replies, "Because my girlfriend, _your_ girlfriend, and your girlfriend's twin-sister thing kept me up till midnight! All thanks to you and Odd leaving me there alone with those three!" Jeremie gives him a slightly apologetic look and says, "Sorry, but I had some studying to do!" Ulrich gives him a disbelieving stare. "In physics? You're joking, right?"

Jeremie's face turns a slight shade of pink. "Yes! Believe it or not, there are some concepts that is above my head!" he replies defensively. "Like proper sentence structure of the Italian language?" Odd jibes smiling. Jeremie's face reddens and frowns. "Um, yeah. Precisely." Jeremie pauses and stares blankly at his orange juice box. "Well, was it that bad after we left?" he asks finally.

Ulrich inhales and exhales deeply as Odd shoves a massive bite in his mouth. "Yeah, if you consider three hyper girls and lots of changes of clothes bad," Ulrich replies. Jeremie's brow crinkles in wonder and asks, "Um, what…happened?" Ulrich smiles slightly and shakes his head, then replies vapidly, "Two words: fashion show." Jeremie grows wide-eyed. "Let's just say that there were a couple of times your girlfriend made me feel a bit uncomfortable. Don't worry, nothing bad happened, it was just weird seeing her model clothes without you there to watch with me," Ulrich continues.

"See all the fun we missed, Einstein? Maybe I shoulda stayed," Odd says, patting his stomach, having finally eaten his fill. "I don't know about that, Odd. If you did, neither one of us would've woken up on time this morning," Ulrich notes. Odd shrugs and nods in agreement then spots Sam across the room. He stands and waves to her. She sees him and smiles slightly. She finishes getting her breakfast tray and heads toward their table.

"Morning, Sam!" Odd says happily. Sam smiles at him and slides down next to him. Ulrich and Jeremie smile at her. "Morning. Hope you don't mind me sitting here," she says. "No, go ahead," Ulrich replies. Sam nods and then sees Odd with two empty trays in front of him. "Odd…" she starts in a scolding manner. He gives her an innocent look and replies, "Hey! I just won a race! Ulrich had to give up his breakfast." Sam looks at him skeptically and Ulrich pipes up, "It's true, I did." Sam nods finally and begins to eat her breakfast. "Besides, it's not like I'm really missing a lot," Ulrich continues, frowning at the plateful of food.

"So, where's Yumi, Aelita, and um, Aelita's twin sister, did you say? What was her name again?" Sam asks after swallowing a bite. Jeremie and Ulrich glance at each other quickly. "Um, I'm not sure. We haven't see them yet this morning, but if they went to bed anytime after I left last night, then I wouldn't be surprised if they were still in bed!" Ulrich replies. "And Aelita's sister's name is Atilea."

Sam raises an eyebrow. "And what time did you leave?" she asks Ulrich, giving him a sly look. "Around midnight. And I blame those stupid lemon candies Yumi had," Ulrich replies. Sam smiles slyly at Odd and replies, "Those were good! I wish I had taken some with me when we left. I coulda had a bit more fun!" Odd blushes and replies, "You mean you didn't have fun after we left?" Sam chuckles deviously at him. "Yes, I did have fun and lots of it, but I'm saying that the fun level could have been higher if I had some of those candies!" Odd grows wide-eyed and his face reddens further with embarrassment. Ulrich and Jeremie chuckle at him as he lowers his head slightly and averts his eyes from Sam's teasing gaze.

Sam shakes her head and gently nudges Odd in the ribs playfully then resumes eating. "I still can't get over how alike Aelita and her sister are," she states between bites. "Well, they are identical twins. There really isn't that much difference between them, at least physically anyways. However, there are a few personality differences," Jeremie states. Sam nods and takes a quick drink of her orange juice. "How long is she here for?" she asks Jeremie. Jeremie swallows, trying not to look nervous. He hadn't really thought about this too much.

"Oh, a couple of days. Then she'll head back to Canada," he replies as convincingly as possible. Sam nods, apparently buying his act. "I think it's cool that Aelita's sister came to visit her on her spring break. Shows how close they are," she replies and pauses for a moment in thought, causing Ulrich and Jeremie to wonder what was going through her mind. She shakes her head and resumes eating. After a few more bites, Sam shoves the tray away from her, leaving part of her breakfast on it. "Geez, I'm full. Odd, you can have the rest, if you want," Sam offers but Odd shakes his head while rubbing is stomach, indicating to her that he is full already. She gives him a slight look of surprise and then shrugs.

Then Ulrich feels a pair of arms slide around his neck from behind and a set of lips kiss his cheek. He smiles as Yumi's face comes into his line of sight. "Morning!" she says, trying to sound perky but Ulrich can tell she's pretty tired still. He turns his head to see a sleepy Aelita yawn in Jeremie's face. Jeremie gives her a slightly shocked look and she giggles at him. "Morning, Yumi," Ulrich says as she sits down next to him. "You two are cutting it kinda close this morning," he continues, glancing up at the clock.

Yumi smiles at him and leans her head against his. "We took Atilea to…" Yumi pauses when she realizes Samantha is sitting with them. "…to her hotel room. She was so dead tired that we didn't think she'd make it on her own safely." "Well, that was nice of you," Jeremie says, trying to act natural. "So, how long did you three stay up after I left?" Ulrich asks. Aelita slides in between Jeremie and Ulrich and replies, "I think it was around one-thirty. At least, that was the last time I looked at the clock."

Sam raises an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Wow. And I thought Odd and I went to bed late!" Sam states. Odd blushes and looks up at his friends, seeing them eye him slyly. "Nothing happened! Stop looking at me like that!" he exclaims as a couple of giggles escape Aelita's lips. Sam turns to look at Odd and smiles. "You're so fun to pick on!" she says giggling. Then Sam turns to Aelita. "I was telling the guys earlier that I thought it was really cool that your sister came all the way from Canada to visit you on her spring break, Aelita," she says.

Aelita lifts her head off of Jeremie's shoulder and blinks. "Oh, yeah, we're close like that," she replies and smiles. "I can tell. So, did you two ever give in to the temptation to ever mess with your parents?" Sam asks. Aelita crinkles her brow in mild confusion. "You know, swap clothes with each other several times a day, just to confuse the heck out of your Mom and Dad?" she continues. Aelita slowly realizes what Sam is suggesting and replies, "No, but I wish we had." Aelita turns to gives Jeremie a devious smile. "But I think we could pull it off now, if we tried, right Jeremie?" Jeremie quickly turns his head and stares at her in shock. "No! Bad idea! No offense, but I don't want to kiss your sister, even if was an accident!" he exclaims. The table erupts into a small laughter as Jeremie turns red. Then, the first period bell rings and the group stands. Odd takes his and Sam's trays to the tray drop-off window, then rejoins the group as they walk out of the cafeteria.

"Hey, I'll see you at lunch, Sweetie!" Yumi says, giving Ulrich a kiss. "See ya! Usual spot, right?" he asks as she starts to walk backwards away from him. Yumi nods and the two wave to each other. Sam hangs back from the rest of the group, dragging Odd back with her. "Hey, um, wanna get together for lunch?" she asks him quietly. Odd smiles and nods. Then, he sees her get a serious look on her face. "Same deal as yesterday applies, though." His smile shrinks as he remembers the conditions she laid down. "Sure, no problem," Odd replies. Sam smiles and slips him a quick hug, then takes off to her class. He waves at her before returning to the rest of the group.

Aelita yawns again and rests her head on Jeremie's shoulder. "Remind me not to stay up that late again," she says. Jeremie chuckles as they reach their first period class. "Will you listen to me when I do?" he jokes. She pauses before replying, "Probably not."

Meanwhile, at the Hermitage, Atilea stirs underneath the sheets of her makeshift bed. She pokes her head out from under the sheets and blinks in slight confusion, not really remembering where she is. Then, the memories of Yumi and Aelita walking her to the Hermitage return and she yawns. This manner of getting rest was completely different that the way she rested on Lyoko in her pod. She squirms and pulls the sheets up to her nose, but accidentally bunches too much up and exposes her bare feet to the cool air of the room. She shivers and pulls her feet back under the warm covers. This was also different than what she was used to. Lyoko didn't really have weather or temperature.

Her sleepy eyes open to see the ceiling and she groans. _Man, what were we thinking last night?_ she thinks to herself. Atilea rolls over onto her side, trying to find a comfortable position to get back to sleep. Atilea drifts to sleep again and begins to dream. In her dream, she sees her new friends sitting at a table in the forest somewhere, laughing and joking with each other. She feels as if she wasn't really there and was just watching a movie. Then, one by one, the members of the group begins to fade away, starting with Odd's friend Samantha. Then, Odd fades away, followed by Jeremie. A sudden wave of fear and confusion grips her as Yumi fades away, leaving only Aelita and Ulrich.

_No! Please! Don't make them fade away! Please! Anyone but them! I…love them!_ she finds herself saying over and over in her mind. Then, Aelita starts to slowly fade away and turns to look in her direction. She reaches a hand out for help and Atilea strains against some invisible force holding her back, trying to reach for her sister. Just as Atilea is about to grab Aelita's hand, she disappears. Atilea instinctively turns to Ulrich and sees that his feet have begun to fade.

_No! Ulrich! Don't leave me!_ she screams in her dream and dives toward him. She falls at his feet and tries to wrap her arms around his legs but her arms just pass through them. She looks up at his face with tears in her eyes and sees him mouth "help me" to her. She tries to grab his hand but her hand just passes through it. Atilea watches helplessly as his body fades, leaving only his face. _Ulrich, please! Don't fade away! I'm sorry! I can't help you! I—I can't touch you for some reason! Don't leave me alone! _Atilea shouts at him in her dream. Then, she hears his voice, finally.

_Why, Atilea? Why did you let me fade away?_

She begins to bawl and reaches up to his face. _I—I don't know! I tried to save you and Aelita, but I couldn't touch you! My hand just passed through you!_ she replies.

_You let me die! Why? I thought you loved me!_ comes his voice.

Atilea buries her face in her hands and hangs her head to the ground. _I tried! I really did! I do love you, but I couldn't hold onto you! I tried to help, really! I'm so sorry, Ulrich! Please, don't leave me!_

Then, silence takes over.

_Please! Come back! I don't wanna be alone! _

Atilea sobs loudly and adopts the fetal position while on her knees. _Don't leave me! Please, don't!_

Then, a voice echoes down from above her.

_You deserve to be alone. You abandoned your true family. Then, you failed to save your so-called new family! What kind of friend are you?_

Atilea lifts her head in shock to see Dod, Imuy, and H'cirlu fade into view. She gasps and scoots across the grass away from them.

_You have no real home. Don't try to pretend you belong in the real world. You are nothing but a pale imitation of the real thing! You have no place in any world so it's better if you just ended it here and now!_

Atilea grits her teeth, feeling anger rise up in her. _No! That's not true! I have a place to call home! I may be a copy, but I am my own person now, thanks to Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita! _

_Really? How can you be? All the feelings, all the emotions you have came from somebody else. You have nothing of your own!_

Atilea stands, facing the specters in her dream and wipes the tears from her eyes. _No. I don't listen to you. I listen to my heart! You can't control me anymore! Now go away and leave me alone!_

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" shouts Atilea, jolting herself awake. She gasps deeply and stares at the opposite wall. She pants heavily and begins to tremble. Atilea blinks several times, trying to clear her vision and sits up, letting the sheets fall from her neck to her lap. Atilea then becomes aware that tears are running down her cheeks and wipes them away with the back of her hand.

She tosses the sheets off her legs and swings them off the edge of the bed to stand. She walks over to the dusty, full length mirror, taking a cloth to wipe it off. Atilea drops the dirty cloth after she finishes and stares at her reflection in the mirror. She surveys herself, stopping at each point on her body and reasons that if she wasn't real, the white tank top and long legged, green and white striped pajama bottoms wouldn't have stayed on her physical body. They would have just passed through her. She glances down at her toes and at the red nail polish that Yumi and Aelita put on them. She wiggles her toes slightly and surmises that if they didn't really believe that she belonged to a family, Yumi and Aelita wouldn't have let her stay up last night with them, giggling almost non-stop.

Atilea closes her eyes and remembers the feeling of freedom she felt when she declared to Yumi and Ulrich at the ledge that she was going to fight against the one who wished to destroy everything she had come to love. If it were impossible to have feelings of her own, then Yumi and Ulrich wouldn't have let her join the fight.

She opens her eyes and looks herself over in the mirror, feeling more confident in her heart. Atilea runs a hand through her pink, mussed hair and giggles at herself. It still felt strange to see herself in something other than her uniform from Lyoko. "I look so silly!" she whispers. "I guess this is what they call bed-head!" she continues as she glances at her hair. She smiles at herself and turns to slide on the pair of flip-flops Yumi gave her. Atilea walks over to the window and gazes up at the blue sky that is dotted with white fluffy clouds. A small flock of birds flies overhead and her gaze follows them in mild fascination until they fly out of sight.

Then, her stomach rumbles and she looks down at her tummy. "Quiet down! You'll get fed soon enough!" she says jokingly. She slides her hand under her shirt and rests it on her tummy, then rests her forehead gently on the cool glass of the window as she watches a pair of Monarch butterflies flit around a group of flowers that have bloomed on the ivy that is snaked up the side of the Hermitage.

Atilea sighs and turns from the window, looking for the box of clothes Yumi gave to her last night. After finding it at the foot of her bed, Atilea rummages through it, picking out a green v-neck shirt and a pair of dirt-blue colored jeans. She tosses them over her shoulder and digs some more, finding other articles of clothing that Yumi and Aelita only briefly explained to her. She frowns and wonders why she had to wear them, but then chalks it up as one of those strange quirks of living in the real world. She stands and heads to the now-working and fully functional bathroom.

Later, at lunchtime, Jeremie waits patiently for Aelita at their favorite outside table. A smile forms on his lips as he sees her finally exit the building and head toward him. He stands politely as she reaches the table.

"Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to go the Hermitage for lunch and to see if Atilea is ok," she says. Jeremie pauses a second before answering, feeling a little disappointed. "Um, sure. Mind if I tag along?" he replies. Aelita smiles and hooks her arm around him. "Of course not, silly! Besides, I have your free lunch today," she says holding up a small basket covered with a cloth. "Ooh, free lunch! What is it?" he asks perking up. Aelita giggles deviously. "Pickle-loaf and horse radish sandwiches," she replies and Jeremie gets a disgusted look on his face. "Oh, gross!" he exclaims and backs out of her arm. Aelita explodes with laughter and tosses the cloth partially back, revealing that is actually turkey and ham. He gets a pout-y look on his face and sticks out his bottom lip slightly. "You're a very mean girl, did you know that?" he asks. Aelita steps up to him and wraps her free arm around his waist again. "Yeah, but you love me anyways!" she says. Then, the pair starts walking toward the forest path.

At the Hermitage, Atilea stands on top of a make-shift ladder, straining upwards to wipe away a cobweb that has eluded her attempts to get rid of it. "Oh, you stupid….! Aak! Why couldn't I be a little taller?" She frowns in frustration and tries to jump up to reach it, but instead her make-shift ladder shifts and begins to collapse. "Oh, no…!" she says just before it gives way. "Eek!" she squeaks as her rear end lands hard on the floor. She rolls over and rubs her behind, staring up at the cobweb angrily. "See what you did? Just wait until someone taller gets here!" she threatens.

"Aelita, I think she's snapped. She's talking to the ceiling!" Jeremie says and startles Atilea. She turns around and sees Aelita and Jeremie standing in the doorway, trying not to laugh. "How long have you been there?" Atilea asks. "Long enough to see your little accident!" Jeremie replies smiling. Atilea gives him a playful hurt look and picks herself up off the floor. "It's not funny, Jeremie!" she says, dusting herself off. "What were you trying to do anyways?" he asks looking up at the ceiling. "I was trying to get that big cobweb down but I'm not…quite…tall…enough…" she says, pouting and points up to the offending cobweb. Jeremie then looks at her collapsed make-shift ladder and raises an eyebrow. "There's a small step ladder in the shed behind the house, you know," he says. Atilea gives him a look of sudden realization. "Well, how was I supposed to know that? You didn't tell me it was there!" she replies. "Um, you could've just went and looked," Jeremie replies simply. Atilea blushes in embarrassment. That thought hadn't occurred to her before. "Aelita, tell your boyfriend to stop picking on me!" Atilea says playfully and sees Jeremie give her a stunned look. Aelita giggles and playfully smacks him in the shoulder. "Why am I the one who always gets beat up?" he asks. Aelita giggles and replies, "Because you are the guy and it's not nice to hit girls," Aelita returns deviously and slugs him again. "Yeah, well, it's not nice to take advantage of that little fact, either!" he retorts and tickles Aelita's ribs. She squeaks and tries to protect her ribs with her elbow.

Jeremie looks at a laughing Aelita victoriously and then turns to Atilea, who is laughing at her sister. "We brought lunch. Hungry?" he asks her. Atilea nods and replies, "Sure! I cleaned off the table outside and made a nice walkway to it so we can eat outside." Jeremie gives her a curious look. "Table? What table?" he asks glancing between the two sisters. "There was a cement picnic table my dad put up on the south side of the house. I'm surprised it's still there," Aelita replies. "And it's still in one piece too!" Atilea chimes in, smiling. Then the trio walks outside and around the side of the building, and Jeremie and Aelita see the path Atilea made, leading to the picnic table.

"I never knew that was there," Jeremie says as they walk towards the table. "Well, it was really grown up around it. Took me most of the morning to get it looking like this. Actually, I found it by accident. I came around here because I saw that small fenced in area," Atilea replies pointing to a small, white fence and gate. "It looked really new and wondered what was in it, then I tripped over the edge of the base to the picnic table."

Aelita gets a look of sadness and nervousness that causes Atilea to give her a questionable look. "You…didn't go in there did you?" Aelita asks her solemnly. Atilea shakes her head and replies, "No, I didn't make it that far. I got too distracted by this table and trying to clean it up." Aelita gets a look of relief and sets the basket down on the table. Jeremie gently bites the inside of his cheek, and hangs his head sorrowfully. Atilea suddenly feels scared and asks, "Why? What's in there?" Aelita looks up at her and shakes her head, trying to speak, but can't. Atilea begins to get exasperated and looks at her sister with expectant eyes.

"Please, don't…" Aelita starts. Atilea feels her heart sink rapidly and begins to wonder why her sister is acting this way. "Did I do something wrong?" Atilea asks as her heartbeat and breathing begins to quicken. "Sis? What did I do wrong? Please, tell me!" Aelita turns away from her and Jeremie as tears begin to run down her cheek.

There is a long, awkward pause before Jeremie gently places his hands on Aelita's shoulders. Aelita wipes her cheeks dry and turns her head to look at him. She gives him a smile and gently pats his hand. Aelita then turns to a distraught Atilea and gives her a gentle smile.

"I'm sorry I upset you, Sis! I didn't mean to!" Atilea starts but Aelita waves her apology off. "It's ok, Atilea. I probably shouldn't have reacted like that. Do you really not know what is in there?" Aelita replies. Atilea shakes her head and fidgets with her shirt tale. "No, I don't. Honest." Jeremie gets a ponderous look on his face and runs a hand across his chin thoughtfully. "Strange. I thought you would have had that particular memory implanted in you, but I guess not," he says. "I guess there are memories that X.A.N.A. can't copy, no matter how hard he tries," Aelita surmises and sits down on the concrete seat of the picnic table.

Atilea slides down on the other end of the same seat Aelita is sitting on and watches Aelita stare at a nearby dandelion, obviously running some personal memories through her head. "I'm almost afraid to ask…" Atilea starts but Aelita interrupts her. "Then don't. I don't want to tell you what is in there. At least, not now. Just promise me you won't try to go in there, ok?" Atilea looks at her and sees a sadness in her eyes that almost causes her to cry herself, despite not knowing the reason. Then, she nods slowly in agreement and Aelita smiles in relief at her. Aelita then slides over to her and gives her a comforting hug.

"Please, don't misunderstand me or my actions. It's nothing personal towards you. I don't let anyone go in there unless I specifically let them and even then, I go with them. I don't even let the man I love go in there alone!" Aelita explains and glances up at Jeremie. Jeremie presses his lips together and nods. "And to add to that, I don't really want to go in there by myself," he adds. Aelita gently leans her head against Atilea's head and continues. "Maybe one day, you and I will take a special trip in there, ok?" Atilea smiles slightly and feels Aelita gently rub her shoulder. "Ok," she replies simply. "But I still feel like I made you mad."

Aelita chuckles lightly and says, "No. No, you didn't. You just stirred up some memories that I hadn't thought on in a while." Atilea chuckles and replies, "Seems like I've been doing that a lot lately." "Maybe that's a good thing. There are a couple of things that I've been through that I've kinda been avoiding. You're actually helping me, in a sense," Aelita says and turns to look at her. Atilea turns and meets Aelita's gaze. "Well, isn't that what sisters are supposed to do?" she asks smiling. Aelita returns the smile warmly and draws her into a bigger hug. "Of course. And I don't think I could have asked for a better sister than you!"

Atilea feels tears of joy well up in her eyes and hugs her sister tightly. Jeremie lets out a sigh of relief and averts his gaze towards the white gate. His mind fills with images of the man that saved the world that meant the most to him. _I still remember my promise to you, Doctor. And I won't even think about giving up,_ Jeremie thinks to himself. He glances at the two and sees them separate from their hug.

"So, what did you bring for lunch?" asks Atilea swinging around to try and look in the basket. Jeremie slides down next to Aelita as she starts to uncover the basket. "It's pickle-loaf and horse radish sandwiches!" he says quickly. Aelita shoots him a scolding glance as Atilea gets a confused look on her face. "What's pickle-loaf?" she asks as Jeremie sees that his second-hand joke fails in it's intent. "Only one of the most disgusting lunch meats ever created," Aelita says after telling Jeremie to behave silently. Atilea gets a worried look on her face. "Don't worry. It's actually turkey and ham," Aelita finishes and pulls off the cloth.

That night, Ulrich sits at his desk, trying to make sense of the physics lesson. He reads a passage on acceleration while going in a curve, then shakes his head and rereads it to try to get his mind to wrap around the concepts. Then he hears the door open and Odd's voice penetrate the silence of the room.

"Hey, Ulrich! Can I ask you something?"

Ulrich sighs and replies without looking up, "I guess."

"Can, uh, Sam and I hang out in here for a while?" Odd asks innocently. Ulrich lifts his head, unsure if he heard Odd correctly. "What?" Ulrich asks. He hears to pairs of feet shuffle into the room and the door close gently. Ulrich then hears Kiwi begin to jump around excitedly. Ulrich sighs in annoyance and holds his head in his hands. "Odd..." he starts.

"Come on, buddy! You know I'd let you and Yumi hang here if you asked me!" Odd interjects.

"I have a ton of physics homework to do. Why don't you go and ask Jeremie?" Ulrich asks, staring at Odd and Sam's reflection in the window.

"Um, we…tried already. He kicked us out almost instantly, saying something about studying that foreign language he's always had trouble with. Come on, please! We don't have any place else to go! And we'll be quiet, I promise! Won't we, Sam?" Odd pleads.

"Um, sure. Promise," Sam replies uncertainly.

Ulrich sighs in exhaustion and turns to look at the pair. Sam stands in the middle of the room, looking nervous and Odd is gazing at him expectantly with a huge, goofy smile plastered to his face. Kiwi tries to get his master's attention by jumping up towards Odd's fingers to try to lick them.

"I'm gonna regret this…" Ulrich whispers to himself before making his decision. "Fine, you can stay, but please keep it down, ok?"

Odd gets an excited look on his face. "Thanks, Ulrich! Hey, I'm gonna go and get us some drinks. You want something, ol' buddy, ol' pal?" he asks. Ulrich shakes his head and glances at an embarrassed Samantha.

"Oh. Well, your loss! Be right back!" Odd replies and exits the room, leaving a now very embarrassed Sam behind.

"You can have a seat on my bed, if you want. It's probably the safest to sit on out of the two," Ulrich offers her, motioning towards his neatly made up bed.

Sam glances at his bed then over to Odd's and sees that it is in massive disarray. She nods and gently slides down onto Ulrich's bed.

"I, uh, want you to know that this wasn't my idea," Sam says.

Ulrich nods and replies, "I know. Odd kinda flies by the seat of his pants most of the time and does things kinda haphazardly sometimes." She chuckles and nods in agreement.

"Can I ask you a question, Ulrich? Then, I'll let you get back to your physics," she asks nervously.

"Sure, go ahead," he replies and rests his arms on his knees.

"Um, what happened to Odd the other day? I could tell that whatever happened, affected him dramatically. It changed him and he was so, well, different. Of course he seems to be back to his old self again, but there for a little while, it was like he was a different person. He was very much like the person he became when I was almost… you know," Sam says.

Ulrich glances down at the floor and presses his lips together in thought. "It's kinda hard to explain, Sam. And honestly, I don't feel comfortable telling you what happened to him behind his back and without his permission. I feel like I'd betray him if I did. You're right, he has changed. And for a moment there, I was really unsure if the change he went through was a good one or not, but now, I see that he has changed for the good."

Sam nods and rubs the hem of her skirt between her thumb and forefinger. "Thank you for your honesty, Ulrich. I hope that this change sticks to him!" she says. He nods and replies, "So do I."

Then the door opens and Odds slips in carrying an armload of canned drinks. Sam looks up at him and gives the numerous drinks a questionable look. "Why so many?" she asks Odd as he sets them down on his bed. He turns and smiles at her. "Well, you never know. Ulrich may get one of those unquenchable thirsts!"

Ulrich raises an eyebrow and retorts, "If anyone gets an unquenchable thirst, it'll be you, Mr. Bottomless Pit!" He turns around back to his desk and states, "I've got to get back to work, ok?" Odd nods and hands Sam her favorite drink. She blushes slightly and takes the drink from him.

At the Hermitage, Atilea and Aelita sit outside on the porch steps and stare up at the starry sky together. "There's so many!" Atilea says in awe, referring to the number of stars in the sky. Aelita chuckles and replies, "That's what I said the first time I ever looked up at the stars on a clear night like this. And to this day, seeing the night sky filled with stars like this, still leaves me staring in awe at them."

The two sisters wrap an arm around each other's shoulders and lean their heads together. "I'm glad I have a sister to share this with," Aelita continues. Atilea smiles happily and continues to take in the awesome splendor of the star-filled night sky. "So am I, Sis," replies Atilea finally. "But I don't want to take away anything you and Jeremie share."

Aelita chuckles and replies, "No, you don't have to worry about that. Granted, sharing a night like this with Jeremie is wonderful, but there's just something about sharing it with someone who is family." Atilea hugs her sister tightly at this and closes her eyes. "I'm family…" she whispers and smiles contentedly.

"I hate to cut this short, but I have to get back to my room, Sis," Aelita says. Atilea gives her a disappointed look and the two stand. "You gonna be ok getting back by yourself?" Atilea asks, concerned. "Yeah, I've done it a few times. Granted, it's usually the other way around, me going from my dorm room to the factory, but I'll manage just fine," Aelita replies giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Ok, but be careful anyways, ok? Jeremie would never forgive me if I let anything happen to you!" Atilea responds. Aelita giggles and the two sisters give each other a final hug before Aelita takes off down the path back to Kadic. Atilea sighs and looks up one last time at the star-filled sky before heading back into the Hermitage.

Dod's eyes flick open partially and he stirs slightly. He groans and closes his eyes.

_Wake up, my son. You have been reborn anew!_

Dod opens his eye slowly and sees that he is inside his pod. "How did…?" he starts.

_I will answer your questions in due time, Son. Now, come out of your pod. I have instructions to give you…._

Imuy stirs and begins to run her hand over her body, feeling slightly disoriented. "Wha--?" she says before realizing she is in her pod.

_My lovely daughter, you are finally awake! Welcome, my child, back to your home!_

"Master, what happened?" she asks.

_In due time, my Princess, in due time. But first, I have to give you some instructions…_

H'cirlu stumbles blindly out of his pod and falls to the ground hard.

_Careful, my Son. Let your body get adjusted before doing anything too strenuous._

"Master! Where am I?" he sputters finally.

_You are home, my Son. Do not worry. You will be alright._

H'cirlu stands shakily and sees that he is on Lyoko. "M-Master--?"

_I will explain later, Son, but first, I have some instructions for you… _


	10. Training and Trial

_**Disclaimer: **Code Lyoko is copyright material of someone else other than me…_

_Ok, here's the next chapter. I found this chapter hard to write, not because of some crazy plot twist, though there is one major twist, but because I found it a bit hard to really advance the plot without writing at least twenty-five pages. However, I did manage to do that, even though, I'd like to have gotten farther. Anyways, action-y and minor-ly romantic. With a twist._

_Rarely do I laugh at a joke I put in one of my stories (usually I leave that to my readers), but the crack that was made about Jim's cologne makes me laugh every time read over it! Also, the "oh, snap…" Hilarious!_

_Poor Odd, so neglected…_

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part VIII: Training and Trial**

Dod grits his teeth and extends his claws. He leaps up off the rock he was perched on and lands on top of the Krab. He jams his claws down into the Eye on the back of the Krab and leaps off it's back just before it staggers around and explodes. Dod lands gracefully and retracts his claws.

H'cirlu sighs with boredom at him and frowns. "You do realize that wasn't what Master X.A.N.A. told you to do," he says. Dod stands and eyes him defiantly. "I don't need you to remind me of what Master X.A.N.A.'s told me! Mind your own business!" Dod retorts gruffly. Imuy glances up from her tessen fan and frowns. "Gee, someone got up on the wrong side of his pod," she says and crosses her arms.

Dod snorts at her but doesn't reply. Then, another Krab virtualizes in front of Dod.

_Dod, pay attention to me and do what I say. I want you to develop your absorption technique. I do not want to have to tell you again._

Dod averts his angry gaze from Imuy to the new Krab before him. The Krab begins to charge a laser blast and Dod extends his hands towards the Krab. "Absorption!" he shouts and a red aura forms around him. The Krab fires and the laser blast hits the aura, instantly absorbing into Dod's body. He feels the new energy begin to flow through his body and he smiles confidently.

The red aura begins to fade from around him and Imuy receives an order from her Master. She opens her fan and holds it across her body. The fan begins to glow with power and she gives Dod a devious grin when she sees that he hasn't seen her yet. "Energy wave!" she yells suddenly and swings the fan in front of her. A white wave of energy instantly flies outward from the path she swung the fan and it streaks towards Dod.

He turns to see the energy wave heading straight for him. He grows wide-eyed and yells instinctively, "Absorption!" The red aura begins to return just as the wave hits him, knocking him over. Dod groans as he sits up, rubbing his chest.

_That was better. Your reaction time has improved, but you still need to work on getting the absorption aura around you faster._

Dod stands and grunts disapprovingly. "Why is it always me that needs to work on something?" he whines quietly. "Why not them?"

_Because they have already became fluent with their new techniques. You have not. I do not want to hear you complain or whine about anything again, understood?_

Dod presses his lips together and replies, "Yes, Master. I understand."

_Now, this time I want you to absorb the energy from both Imuy and the Krab. Both will attack you at their leisure. Focus on keeping the aura around you longer so you do not have to keep calling it up over and over again._

Dod nods and watches Imuy pull out her second fan. She opens it and begins to walk around him slowly, looking for any weakness in Dod's technique. The Krab lumbers toward him carefully as Dod shifts his stance so he can watch both of his opponents simultaneously. "Bring it…." he taunts in a deep, confident voice.

An evil twinkle flashes in Imuy's eye as she smirks at the size of Dod's ego. She unleashes two Energy Waves at him as the Krab fires several times. He stretches his arms out to the side and shouts "Absorption!" mere seconds before the energy attacks hits him. He feels the absorbed energy course through his body and an evil smile forms on his face as he glances between the Krab and Imuy.

"Is that all you got?" Dod taunts and Imuy snorts in defiance. "You think you can handle what I got?" she retorts sharply. "Keep the innuendo to a minimum, Imuy! It doesn't distract me like it does H'cirlu!" Dod returns without missing a beat. H'cirlu raises an eyebrow and frowns. Imuy rolls her eyes at Dod and replies, "Oh, please. I'd never be desperate enough to hit on you! I just don't think you can take all that you say or think you can take!" Dod snorts gruffly at her and begins to focus on keeping his absorbent aura around him. "I mean, you're already straining to keep that aura around you! All I have to do is wait until you are unable to keep it up any longer, then I'll strike!" she continues, slashing her fan menacingly through the air.

_Imuy, that is not the plan. Do what you are told._

Imuy gets a guilty look on her face then nods obediently. "Triple Energy Fans!" she yells and a total of six fans streak towards Dod. The Krab fires and hits him in the back as he tries to dodge the two real fans. He manages to dodge only one of the real fans and catches the other. Then, Dod braces himself as the remaining four fans close in.

The first one slams into him and he manages to stay standing. The second finds it's mark and Dod has to take a step backward to keep from falling over. The third lands squarely in his gut and he doubles over briefly. Then, his aura gives out and Dod grows wide-eyed as he sees the fourth homes in. "BARRIER!" Dod yells and an energy bubble envelops him. The last energy fan slams into the barrier and Dod exhales heavily with relief. He lets his barrier fade away and begins to breath heavily while watching Imuy and the Krab carefully. Imuy smiles and giggles deviously as she begins to charge her remaining fan. Dod glances at the fan in his hand then tosses it at the Krab, nailing it directly in the Eye on it's back. Imuy psychokinetically brings the fan back to her as the Krab explodes. Dod inhales deeply and forces his breathing to slow back to normal. "Let's go again!" he says, adopting a fighting stance.

Lunchtime at Kadic. Atilea smiles happily as she sees all her friends, including Odd's friend Sam, walking up the path towards the Hermitage. She hops up from the porch steps and runs to meet them, giving her sister a hug. "Hi! Glad to see all of you came today!" Atilea says cheerfully. Sam gives the house and her a curious look and nudges Yumi's shoulder. "I thought you said she was staying at a hotel.," she says.

"Um," Yumi starts. "My flight was cancelled and the next one going out is in a couple of days. Aelita was nice enough to put me up in her, uh, house since I didn't have the money to stay in the hotel another night," Atilea interjects quickly, seeing Yumi struggle with an explanation. "Isn't my sister great?" she adds, giving Aelita another hug.

Sam nods slowly but shifts her nod into a confused shake. "You people make me question my sanity," she says giving the group a dubious frown. Odd grins big and replies, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we question our own sanity from time to time!" "Speak for yourself, Odd. Most of us just question your sanity!" jibes Ulrich. Odd gives him a proud smile as snickers come from the rest of the group.

"Hope you guys are hungry… oh wait. I hope everyone else other than Odd is hungry. I have lots of food to go around!" Atilea says. The group starts heading around the corner of the Hermitage to the picnic table and the see a folding table setup with various sandwich stuff and different kinds of chips with three different kinds of cookies for dessert.

"Um, you…got all that for us?" Jeremie asks Atilea, stunned. She smiles happily and replies, "Yep! You guys have been so good to me, it's the least I could do for you!" Ulrich leans close to her and whispers, "May I ask where you got the money for all that?" She turns and gives him a strained smile. "No, you can't. Ask my sister," she whispers back. He leans back, shocked and looks over at Aelita, who blushes slightly when she sees him staring at her. "I didn't steal it, if that's what you're worried about," she whispers and pats his shoulder reassuringly. Atilea then turns to the rest of the group and says, "Well, dig in everyone! Odd, leave more than you take." Odd gives her a stunned look and asks innocently, "What?" Sam elbows him and he gets a pouting look on his face.

"Have a seat. Ulrich, could you give me a hand carrying a couple more chairs out here, please?" Atilea asks nicely, but the look in her eye tells him that she only said that so she can talk to him privately. Ulrich nods and follows her into the Hermitage. Once inside, she turns and gives him a pained and hurt look. "What's the matter?" he whispers to her. "Do you still trust me, Ulrich?" she asks him. Ulrich is taken aback slightly by her question.

"Well, yeah, I'd like to think I still have a reason to. Why?" he asks, getting a nervous look on his face. "Well, when you asked me about the money, I got the feeling you thought I… you know, slipped back into my old self. I would never do anything to jeopardize the things I love… including you--r trust. Aelita gave me a little money yesterday evening so I could go and experience what is was like to shopping for the first time. I went into town this morning and bought lunch for everyone. Then I dropped by Aelita's room and left a note telling her to get everyone together and come here for lunch. I did this all for you!" she says and pauses after her last sentence. "Um, that last sentence didn't come out right… Not just for you, but all of you!"

Ulrich smiles and lays a hand gently on her shoulder. "I believe you. Aelita obviously told us about this or we wouldn't have come here. I didn't mean to sound like I was accusing you of anything. I'm sorry, Atilea," he replies. She smiles quickly and looks away, trying to keep her smile genuine. Ulrich notices that her smile is hiding something else. "There's something else bothering you, isn't there?" he asks. She closes her eyes and frowns as she turns away from him. She nods and he hears her try to hold back a sob.

"I've been having….nightmares? Is that what you call it when you have a dream that scares you?" Atilea says looking down at the floor. "Yeah, that's what they're called. You want to talk about it?" he asks caringly. She begins shaking her head quickly. "No, not now. Maybe some other time," Atilea replies and glances over her shoulder at him. Ulrich nods slightly and says, "Ok. Just let me know if you do. Or Aelita or Yumi. Somebody." He gently pats her shoulder comfortingly, and turns to pick up a nearby chair.

"They're still alive, Ulrich," he hears her say. Ulrich turns and looks at her curiously. "What? Who's still alive?" Atilea breathes deeply and replies without turning to face him, "The others. They're still alive on Lyoko." He blinks and gives her a inquisitive look. "How do you know?" he asks quietly. "I don't know. I can just…feel it on the inside of me. They're still there, alive and well, despite what we did to them," she replies and turns around to face him. He takes a step towards her and smiles comfortingly. "Well, if they are and they try anything, we'll face'em together, ok?" he consoles. "It's going to be ok. Promise. Now, come on. The other's are waiting for us. And if we wait too long, Odd's gonna eat all the food!" Atilea smiles as he chuckles. He turns and carries the chair outside. She smiles and wipes her cheeks with her fingers. She didn't know what it was about him, but she always felt better after talking to him. Atilea grabs another chair and carries it outside to the others, smiling warmly at her friends as they begin to laugh and joke amongst themselves. Aelita looks up at her as she carries the chair and waves happily, motioning for her to join them.

Lyoko. Dod leans against a rock and pants heavily as the three H'cirlus smiles in dominance at him. Imuy turns her head and frowns as she sees that Dod has lost the match. "What's the matter, Dod? Not having a good day?" the H'cirlus taunt simultaneously. "You know, I would have had you if you didn't get all scared and split into three people! Seems like that's your only real defense!" Dod retorts. "Oh, please. I just split like this to be merciful and end our match quickly!" snaps the left H'cirlu. "You're fighting style is so lame, it's no wonder you lost to Atilea!"

Imuy frowns and steps between them and states, "Just leave him alone, H'cirlu. He's had a rough day." The H'cirlus rejoin and eyes her in mild shock. "And why do you care?" H'cirlu snorts. "Because I can. Look, I'm tired and I want to get some rest," she replies and waves off his question with a flick of her hand. "You can't be tired! You hardly put out any effort!" H'cirlu exclaims. "Physically, no, I'm not tired, but mentally, yes," Imuy replies glancing at him. "Well, I didn't ask for your sympathy," Dod says to her. "It's not whether you asked or not, it's whether you need it or not," Imuy replies. H'cirlu gets a stunned look on his face and Dod eyes her in mild confusion. "I think your little trip to the real world messed with your head!" Dod says. Imuy snorts and crosses her arms. "Whatever! My head's just fine, thank you very much!" she replies. "Yeah, well, you haven't exactly been yourself ever since you came back. You were really ruthless before you left, but now, you seem more…reserved at times," H'cirlu notes.

Imuy frowns and stares at the ground. "Or are you planning to betray us like that harlot Atilea?" Dod accuses, giving her a disgusted look. She shoots him an angry look and opens her fan. "How dare you question my loyalty! I should kill you where you stand!" Imuy exclaims angrily and raises her fan to throw it at him.

_Stop bickering amongst yourselves! You were given life to destroy the humans, not each other._

Imuy and Dod relax in look away from each other and Imuy closes her fan.

_No more training for today. Return to your pods. I will awaken you when the time is right for us to strike!_

Dod and H'cirlu nod and bow respectfully, then turns to leave. Imuy waits until they are gone before addressing her master.

"Master?"

_Yes, my lovely daughter?_

"What about Atilea?"

There is a brief pause before an answer comes. _Her fate will be the same as that of the humans._

Imuy closes her eyes and tries not to let her feelings change.

_I know what is going on in your heart, my daughter, so stop trying to hide it from me. You should not have any feelings of sympathy or concern for Atilea. Remember, she betrayed you, but mostly, she betrayed me. She has brought this fate upon herself._

"What if I, um, could get her back? Would you spare her life?"

Another pause. _You can try, but with what I felt in her heart when she returned, I do not believe that she could be converted. But, if you did manage to get her to turn back to me, then, yes, I would spare her life, but she would be denied any further power from me._

Imuy nods and heads toward her pod in the forest sector. Minutes later, she arrives at her pod and stops to run her hand over the outer shell of the pod. "Master, do you…love me?" she almost whispers. Then, a familiar warmth begins to creep over her entire body and causes her to smile.

_Of course I do, Imuy. Why do you question me on that matter? Do I not exhibit it enough for you?_

She begins to feel a strange, but oddly calming tingling in her abdomen. "Yes, Master, I just wanted to…." She starts but the tingling causes her to almost collapse on top of her pod with a strange emotion that she has not experienced before and can't quite describe.

_I know. You wanted to hear it verbally._

"Master, this feeling….it feels…good…"

_It represents my love for you, Imuy, my daughter. Now, get into your pod and rest your mind._

The Hermitage, that night. Atilea sits on the porch steps in her pajamas and stares up at the bright full moon hanging in the sky. She smiles and sighs relaxingly. Then a figure approaches the house and she squints to see through the dark to see who it is. Then, Ulrich and Aelita step into the moonlight where she can see them. Atilea smiles and stands to greet them.

"I'm glad you came. I was beginning to think that you couldn't find a way to get here," Atilea says, hugging her sister. Ulrich smiles. "Well, it wasn't easy. Jim's sleeping habits are a bit crazy," he says. "We can't stay too long. I'm not sure how long Odd and Jeremie can cover for me." Ulrich then turns to Aelita and comments, "I'm still not sure how you managed to get Sissi to cover for you." Aelita giggles and replies, "Well, you know Sissi. She'll do almost anything for a chance to go and see the SubSonics!"

Ulrich gives her a stunned look. "You had tickets to go see the SubSonics!" She smiles and nods. "Yes, I did. I was going to try and get Jeremie to go with me this weekend, but he has already hinted around that he wants to finish the Second Seal and work on his hydro-electric science project. So, I gave one to Sissi to get her to cover for me. I told her she would get the second after I got back," Aelita replies.

"You certainly drive a hard bargain. Remind me to never make a deal with you!" Ulrich jokes and Aelita giggles. "Yeah, I wonder which side of the family you got that from?" Atilea says. Aelita gives her a curious look. "Oh, wait, I know that already! Odd's side of the family!" Atilea continues and Aelita smiles slowly and gently smacks her sister's arm. "You know we're not really related!" Aelita says. Atilea smiles and replies, "Yes, I know! But you have to admit that some of Odd's quirkiness has rubbed off on you!"

"Maybe…" Aelita says giving her a playful pouting look. Atilea giggles and the three walk inside, then she turns to her sister. "Hey, um, Sis? Can I talk to him alone, please?" she asks, trying to cover up her nervousness. Aelita raises an eyebrow and glances at Ulrich. He shrugs slightly, not knowing how to respond. "Don't worry. I'm not going to try and kill him. I don't think I could handle having Yumi's wrath poured out on me!" she mildly jokes. "Something tells me that her wrath would be a hundred times more than what yours was, Sis!"

"I don't think it would be a very good idea, Atilea, especially in your pajamas. If someone who didn't know you like we do saw the two of you alone, they might think that the two of you are…" Aelita says and Atilea realizes what she is implying and gasps. "Oh, no! I would NEVER try and…and…you know! I'd rather die than do that, especially since he and Yumi are together! That'd be worse than killing him! Believe me, that is the last thing on my mind!" Atilea exclaims and steps back, holding her hands up defensively. "Um, no offense, Ulrich." He presses his lips together and blushes. "None taken…" he replies softly, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Atilea frowns at herself and sits down on a chair, looking remorseful. Aelita sits down next to her and wraps an arm around her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Atilea starts. "It's ok. You didn't know. But there are some things that are considered a social no-no. Like being with someone else's boyfriend, alone and in your pajamas. That's why Ulrich asked me to come along. He didn't want people to get the wrong idea," Aelita explains caringly. Atilea nods and leans her head against her sister's head gently.

Ulrich sighs and looks around the room for a place to sit. He finds a chair that was used for the picnic and drags it closer to them. He sits down and Aelita scoots away from her sister as Atilea grabs a nearby cushion and holds it close to her chest.

"Um, now that we've gotten that out of the way, you wanted to talk about your dream?" Ulrich asks, trying to break the sudden tension in the room. Atilea blinks and nods as she grips the cushion tightly. "Yes, I did. It's actually kinda long, but I'll try to give you the short version," she replies.

After she tells them her dream, the trio sits in silence, absorbing the information and possible meaning of it. "I'm scared…" Atilea says and beings to tremble. "What if I do betray you? What if I let you all die? What if I am the one responsible for your deaths?" she asks with a scared look on her face.

After a brief pause, Ulrich breaks the silence. "Do you think you are capable of doing that?" he asks. Atilea looks up at him. "Yes…" she whispers. Her voice then raises in volume before she continues. "After all, I was originally created to destroy you."

"But, you've changed your heart. Doesn't that mean anything?" Ulrich asks.

"Yes, but I still have that link to X.A.N.A. He could take me over and then…."

"Jeremie has been working on that," Aelita interjects.

Atilea turns to look at her. "He…has?"

"Yes, he has. Besides, after what X.A.N.A. did to you when he realized you turned on him, I don't think he'll try to take you over. It looked more like he wanted to kill you," Aelita replies.

"Also, you have to remember, whatever X.A.N.A. does, whatever he throws at you, or whatever he tries to do to you, you aren't facing it alone. All five, er, six of us are one big team. We help each other out when we need it. Just ask anybody in the team. Better yet, ask Aelita. She knows that fact better than any of us because, well, she was once fighting X.A.N.A. alone. But then we came along and helped her out," Ulrich says comfortingly.

Atilea ponders their statements and feels her fear begin to subside. "Is it wrong to doubt yourself?" she asks finally. "No. Once or twice is ok, but it's bad when you do it almost constantly," Ulrich replies. "You should always strive to be confident in all that you do," Aelita chimes in. "And I'm saying that not just to you, but to myself." Aelita glances up at Ulrich and continues, "You see, I'm taking martial arts lessons from Ulrich and I'm finding that it's a lot of work. I have to make sure that I at least look confident in what I'm doing. Of course, Ulrich is a great teacher and encourages me a lot." Ulrich smiles and says, "Yeah, and sometimes I have to 'encourage' you in ways that isn't verbal." Aelita's smile disappears and a look of school-child guilt forms on her face. "Like when I see that you're slacking off!" he finishes with an 'I found you out' look on his face. "Let's not go there, shall we?" Aelita asks, slightly embarrassed.

Ulrich raises an eyebrow. "Oh, yes, let's! You see, Aelita works the hardest and is the most confident when she's mad because I kick her literally in the rear to get her to move!" he says giving Aelita a hard stare. Atilea turns her head and looks at a blushing and pouting Aelita. She giggles and Aelita smacks her with another cushion. "Hey!" Atilea squeaks as she begins to laugh harder. "It wasn't the kick to the rear that bothered me, it was the fact that you did it while Jeremie was watching me!" Aelita protests to Ulrich and brandishes her cushion at him. "He teased me the rest of the day about that!"

Ulrich laughs and scoots his chair away from her as she tries to hit him with the cushion in playful frustration. She then throws it at him but he catches it easily and returns it almost instantly, hitting her in the chest. Aelita gives him a stunned look and Atilea bursts out laughing. Aelita turns to her and looks at her in playful annoyance. "What are you laughing at?" she asks and whacks Atilea with the cushion. "That's not nice!" Atilea replies as she bops Aelita with her cushion. Aelita tries to hit Atilea again but their cushions collide midair.

Ulrich leans back in his chair and smiles as he watches the two sisters pelt each other with the cushions. "All I need is some popcorn and a large drink, then I'll be set! This is the best show ever!" he says and the two pause in mid-swing. They turn and look at him with deviousness in their eyes. "Enjoying yourself?" Aelita asks and raises an eyebrow. Ulrich's eyebrows shoot up and smiles innocently. "Didn't we tell you that it's audience participation night?" Atilea asks and flings her cushion at him, hitting him squarely in the face. He topples over backwards and hits the floor with a loud thud.

The two girls leap up and rush to his side, trying not to laugh. "Are you ok?" Atilea asks as she kneels down next to him. Ulrich blinks and lets out a grunt. "I thought you were going to catch it!" she exclaims, trying to hold back a laugh. "Ow! I didn't think you'd hit me!" he replies and rolls over onto his side. Atilea gives him a shocked look. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't think I can hit my target?" she asks, raising her eyebrows. Ulrich rubs the back of his head and chuckles. "In the face. I didn't think you'd hit me in the face!" he states turning his head toward her.

"Aww, playing a little too rough, are we?" Atilea asks mockingly. He starts to reply, but she bops him again in the face with the cushion. He instinctively turns his head to the floor and hears her giggle. "You're a mean girl, you know that?" he states, holding up his hand to protect the side of his head. Atilea smiles and bonks him on the top of his head with the cushion and replies, "Thank you!"

"This isn't fair! I'm unarmed!" Ulrich protests but is met with a cushion from his other side, dealt by a giggling Aelita. "Well, from what I can see, you still have two arms attached to your body!" jokes Atilea and laughs. Ulrich presses his lips together as another cushion collides with his head. "That's not what I meant…" he says. Atilea giggles and replies, "I know, but it's so fun messing with you! I learned that from watching Yumi!"

Ulrich blinks as this revelation sinks in. "Oh, really?" he asks getting a determined look on is face. He snatches the cushion from Atilea's hands and bops her in the head, catching her by surprise and she rolls onto her side. Aelita squeaks and holds her cushion in front of her face to protect herself, but he reaches over the top of it and conks her on the top of the head. She lifts it to the top of her head and he bops her lightly in the face. She falls gently backwards, laughing as he turns to see Atilea grab the final cushion and swing it at him. He blocks it and hits her ribs, causing her to drop her arms to protect them. Ulrich takes advantage of this and smacks her in the head twice, sending her to the floor on her back. Atilea laughs as he stands and gently puts his foot on her stomach. She curls up and tries to shove his foot off her, but her laughing hinders her coordination and her hands just slip off his foot.

"Ha! Victory!" Ulrich exclaims and smiles proudly down at her. Atilea forces herself to stop laughing long enough to see him drop his cushion on her face. She knocks it away and glares in playful anger up at him. "Aelita! Help!" she calls but sees that her sister is too incapacitated with laughter to do anything. "You're useless when you laugh," she says to Aelita and looks up at Ulrich with a cute, begging look on her face. "Can I get up now?" she asks sweetly.

"Not unless you promise not to hit me in the face with a cushion."

Atilea gives him a pouting look and reluctantly agrees. He lifts his foot and she rolls out from under it. Ulrich turns to see Aelita wiping the laughter tears from her eyes. "We'd better get back, Aelita. If Jim catches us, he and the principal will have our heads!" he says. Aelita takes a deep breath to force herself to stop laughing. Atilea crawls over to her and helps him stand her up.

After straightening the cushions and chairs, Ulrich and Aelita say good bye to Atilea and head towards the door when Ulrich cell phone buzzes in his pocket. Then, Aelita's phone rings and Atilea gets an ashen look on her face. Ulrich answers his phone and steps outside onto the porch.

"Hello?"

"Ulrich, we've got trouble. X.A.N.A.'s awake and has activated a tower! Jeremie and Odd are heading towards the factory now!" comes Yumi's frantic voice.

"Ok, I'm on my way. See you there!" he answers and hangs up the phone, cursing X.A.N.A.'s bad timing.

Aelita and Atilea join him outside and he can tell that they knew already what was happening. "Are you two ready?" he asks and Aelita nods solemnly. Atilea perks up and runs back into the Hermitage. "Wait a sec! Let me get my shoes!" they hear her say as she reaches the stairs. She returns a minute later and the three heads around the house to the cellar door.

Jeremie slides into the computer chair and puts on the headset. Odd watches the screen expectantly as Jeremie begins checking to see if his little ruse was broken. Then, Yumi exits the elevator and walks over to them as Jeremie smiles, relieved the fake security he setup is still intact. "Well, what's happening?" she asks and glances at the computer screens. Jeremie shakes his head and shrugs. "I don't know, but we'll wait for Ulrich and Aelita to get here before you head to Lyoko," he replies and starts to type in the commands to run a scan. Then a voice crackles in the headset, startling him.

"Attention, humans! I demand to speak to the one called Jeremie!" crackles a voice similar to Odd's.

Odd notices that Jeremie freezes and gets a scared look on his face. Jeremie swallows nervously and answers, "I am Jeremie. Wh—what do you want?"

"Is all of your human friends there with you?"

"Hold on, let me put you on the loud speaker…." Jeremie states and presses a couple of buttons. "Ok, there. Now, why do you want to know if everyone is here?"

There is an annoyed grunt and the voice continues. "Because I want for all of you to hear what I have to say! Now, tell me, are they all there or not?"

Then, a sarcastic female voice echoes from the background. "Ooh, such people skills!"

"Shut up! I'm the one talking to them and I'll talk to them any way I choose!" barks the male voice.

Jeremie blinks in confusion and looks at the monitor in disbelief. "Um, if you are through arguing…." He says.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, what is it?" comes the slightly distracted reply.

"Not all of us are here. We're waiting on a few others to arrive," Jeremie answers.

"You know, this would be funny if I didn't know that it was our evil twins on the other end," Odd quips and crosses his arms.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you wouldn't know humor if it reached up and bit you in the face, Odd!" retorts Dod.

"Oh, yeah, that's telling'em! Real threatening!" jibes H'cirlu in the background.

"Please tell me we weren't that argumentative and incompetent when we first got together," Odd says shaking his head.

"No, but your wacky sense of humor was hard to get used to," replies Yumi.

"Hey! We can hear you, you know!" snaps Dod.

"Look, just open a communications channel when the others get there! Then, we'll discuss what, um, we need to discuss…" Imuy states, faltering on her words, realizing she began to make no sense.

"Such an eloquent speaker! Can you teach me how to give a speech like that?" asks Dod sarcastically.

"Um, sure…" Jeremie replies and closes the channel. "That has to qualify as one of the weirdest conversations I've ever had."

Then, the elevator doors open and Ulrich, Aelita, and Atilea step out into the room. "We got here as soon as we could! What did we miss?" he asks quickly. Jeremie, Yumi, and Odd turn to look at them and Jeremie starts to reply but then stops upon seeing Atilea's garb.

"What?" Ulrich asks, not realizing what Jeremie is staring at. Yumi raises an eyebrow and glances over at Ulrich. Odd covers his face and turns away, knowing that it could get ugly. "Would somebody please say something?" Ulrich asks, getting a little worried and impatient.

"Why do you have a red mark on your forehead?" Yumi asks bluntly. Ulrich gives her a confused look and then he realizes what she is asking about. "Oh, yeah. That's what happens when someone hits you in the face with a cushion," he replies and frowns, slightly embarrassed. Yumi gives him a dubious look and he notices she is glancing between him and Atilea. Aelita steps towards Jeremie and smiles. "Why did you get hit with a cushion?" Yumi asks Ulrich as he walks towards her and she places her hands on her hips. He pauses and replies, "Because I didn't catch it." Yumi frowns at his answer. "Stop being cryptic. Just tell me!" she says almost demandingly. He sighs and answers, "Because Atilea threw it at me."

Atilea's eyes widen and she gets an 'innocent by-stander' look on her face as Yumi looks over at her. "And why did she have to throw a cushion at you?" Yumi asks with a slight hint of accusation in her voice. "Because she's mean! I wasn't doing anything!" he replies defensively. Atilea gets a shocked look on her face and exclaims, "Oh, whatever! You deserved it, Ulrich!" He turns and gives her an equally shocked look. "Oh, no I didn't! I was just sitting there innocently! You can ask Aelita! It was you who started it by throwing the cushion at me first!" Ulrich exclaims. Aelita turns a shade of red as she sees Jeremie give her a questionable look.

"Well, he is right. You did start it," Aelita replies and gives her a strained smile. Atilea gives her a hurt look. "Whose side are you on, Sis? And for your information, it was actually YOU who started it!" Atilea exclaims. Odd cringes and shudders as a bad mental image runs through his head. Yumi gets wide-eyed and bites her lower lip. "Please tell me that there is a simple, rational explanation because the ones I have are bad and scary! Especially the way Atilea is dressed!" Yumi states, glancing at the three. Atilea gets a confused look on her face and glances down a herself, then realizes she is still in her pajamas. She blushes a bright red and crosses her arms in front of her.

Ulrich sighs and replies, "A pillow fight. We had a pillow fight, except with cushions. Aelita started it by hitting Atilea first, but I ended it after Atilea hit me in the face. Nothing bad happened. Promise." Yumi relaxes a bit and tries to decide if he's telling the truth.

Odd turns and glances at them. "A pillow fight? You didn't tell me you were going to have a pillow fight!" he says. "I didn't plan on having a pillow fight, er, cushion fight, rather. It just sorta happened," Ulrich replies, shrugging.

Jeremie sighs and rubs his eyes. "Hey, we have a more pressing matter to deal with. Save your chitty-chat for later," he says sternly, catching everyone's attention. "The twins wanted me to contact them when everyone got here. I would appreciate it if you weren't goofing off when I call them." And with that, he turns to the keyboard and begins typing.

"It must be serious if Jeremie isn't having any fun playing on that computer," Atilea whispers to herself. Jeremie taps the final key and clears his throat quietly.

"Imuy, are you there?" Jeremie asks.

"Yes, I'm here. I assume everyone is there now?" comes her reply.

There is a sound in the background behind Imuy that sounds like someone throwing a fit but Jeremie answers, "Yes, we are. Now, what do you want?"

"Well, first of all, it may surprise you that, at this particular moment in time, we don't want to take over the real world."

Jeremie snorts in disbelief. "I find that hard to believe," he says.

"And that is your right. However, it still doesn't change the fact that we've temporarily put that on hold," Imuy replies, followed by an angry shout in the background. Then, Dod's voice echoes from some indeterminate distance away from her. "Imuy, that is MY job! Let go of me, H'cirlu!" he yells.

"Fine. Say that I believe you. What do you want?" Jeremie inquires.

"Not much. We have to deal with a matter of internal security," Imuy replies.

"Oh? Am I right to assume that Dod is not the subject of the inquiry?" Jeremie asks putting his hands together thoughtfully.

"Correct. If Dod were, rest assured that we would not be contacting you."

"May I ask as to what this security matter concerns?"

"Only that it is a matter of high treason by a certain former member of our party."

Atilea gasps as she realizes they are talking about her. Aelita looks up to she her back away from the group to the wall and begin to tremble. Jeremie gets a concerned look on his face.

"We require that Atilea be extradited to Lyoko to stand trial for her crimes," Imuy continues firmly.

Atilea begins to shake her head "no" wildly and Aelita walks over to her, wrapping her arms around Atilea comfortingly.

"You know, I really don't think that she'll get a fair trial if we turn her over to you," Jeremie replies.

"Humph. Don't be hasty. We are willing to offer you a three week reprieve from attack, a cease fire, if you will, if you turn her over to us."

Jeremie stares at the screen, appalled. "Three weeks! That's it? You are offering us three weeks of peace if we turn over Atilea to you?" he exclaims.

"Yes," Imuy replies simply.

The room grows silent and Atilea buries her head in Aelita's shoulder. Then, Imuy's voice penetrates the silence.

"You have one hour to comply."

Jeremie tries to force his words to come out his mouth, but fails. Ulrich grits his teeth and Yumi looks at a sobbing Atilea. Odd shifts uncomfortably and Aelita mouths to Jeremie, "Don't let them have my sister."

Jeremie finally turns back to the screen. "What if we decline your offer?"

"That's not an offer, Jeremie!" Ulrich blurts out angrily. "It's signing her death certificate!"

"Call it what you want, Ulrich, but know this, if you decline our generous offer or you let the allotted time expire, then Atilea and all that harbor her will be executed on sight if they set foot on Lyoko!" Imuy snaps back.

"So that's why you wanted us all here for this. You didn't want to leave anyone out from under the deal," Jeremie states.

"That is correct, Jeremie. No wonder they call you 'Einstein'."

"Well, I hate to spoil your fun, but you can't really hang death over our heads! We have faced death so many times, it isn't funny! Besides, that's not what I call a 'generous' deal!" Odd suddenly exclaims.

"Yeah! Three weeks is nothing! You'd have to give us three thousand YEARS before we even consider letting the thought of turning her over to you enter our minds!" Jeremie states sternly.

"Humph. Normally, I would consider that your final answer, but I'm going to give you a chance to think it over. The deal is as stands. No grace period, no compromises. Take it or leave it," Imuy states blandly. "I will contact you in one hour from now." And with that, Imuy terminates the connection before anyone has a chance to say anything.

Jeremie stares at the screen in a stunned silence as Aelita looks up at him with a look of desperation. Ulrich feels Yumi wrap her arms around him and feels her squeeze him. Odd watches Atilea and Aelita as they hold each other, seeing that they genuinely care for each other. Then, there is a long, silent, and tense pause before anyone dares to speak.

"We are not turning her over to them. There is nothing to discuss, or consider, or even give thought to. They will kill her the minute their so-called trial is over, if they even have one. I do not want have the knowledge that I sent someone to their death just for a measly three weeks of peace on my conscious," Ulrich states firmly.

"None of us wants that on our conscious, Ulrich. And we are not going to give Atilea to them. Instead, for the next hour, I suggest we get a plan together on what our next move is going to be," says Jeremie, turning to look at his friend.

"Yeah, I agree with Jeremie," Odd says. "I guess she's kinda grown on me. I couldn't just turn her over."

Atilea raises her head off Aelita's shoulder and looks at him in mild shock. "Really?" she asks meekly. He smiles slightly at her and nods. She lets go of her sister, walks over to him, and gives him a hug that takes him slightly aback. "You don't know how much that means to me to hear you say that!" Atilea whispers to him. Odd stammers, trying to reply, but only strange noises escape his lips. Atilea releases him and gives him a warm smile then walks back over to Aelita. Odd stands there, paralyzed slightly from the sudden the hug.

Jeremie hops out the chair and joins the rest. "Ok, does anybody have any ideas on what to do next?" he asks as Aelita slides over to him and wraps her arm around his waist, giving him a gentle hug.

One hour later.

Jeremie frowns and crosses his arms. "You know, there is still a billion things that could go wrong with this," he says but the determined look on all of his friend's faces tells him that they have made up their minds. "Stop being so pessimistic, Jeremie. That's Ulrich's job!" Odd jokes and receives a frown from Ulrich. Jeremie sighs and drops his arms. "Fine. I concede, but I still…" he starts but Aelita steps up to him and places a finger gently on his lips. "We know, Sweetheart, and we do value your opinion. It's just that you've been telling us your opinion over and over and over. I love you, but sometimes you can be so unnecessarily redundant," she says, half-smiling at him. He gives her a sigh of defeat and slides an arm around her waist. She removes her finger from his lips and replaces it with a kiss.

Atilea half-smiles at them and then turns to look at Yumi and Ulrich, who are also hugging each other. She then glances at Odd and then down to the floor. "The hour is almost up. Imuy should be calling anytime now," Atilea states with a bit of nervousness. The two couples separate and turn to look at her as she stands from her seat on the floor. "Are you sure about this?" Yumi asks as she and Ulrich stand also. Atilea sighs and presses her lips together. "No, I'm not, but that doesn't mean I won't give it a try. Now, I want to reiterate the fact that X.A.N.A. has most likely infused them with the last bit of power to allow them to be completely self-sufficient, which also means that they are more dangerous," she replies, sliding her feet back into her flip-flops.

"Don't worry. We know that you'll give one hundred and ten percent, Sis!" encourages Aelita smiling at her. "That sounds so funky!" Odd states. Everyone turns to look at him curiously. "What does?" asks Ulrich. "Um, well, Aelita and Atilea calling each other 'sis' and 'sister' and so on. I just can't seem to get used to it," Odd replies, giving them a slight uncomfortable frown. "It's still a bit strange to me as well. After all, I've never had a sister before," Aelita says. "Even before I was taken to Lyoko that first time long ago." Atilea blushes and hangs her head humbly. "Thanks, Aelita," she says, smiling.

"Ok, one last time, let's just stick to the plan and hopefully we can pull this off!" Ulrich says and glances around the room. "Everyone remember what they need to do?" Odd stands at attention and salutes him. "Sir, yes, sir!" he exclaims confidently. Everyone else nods as they chuckle at Odd's flamboyant enthusiasm. Ulrich nods with satisfaction and Yumi gives him a kiss on the cheek and a wink. "Ok, Jeremie, let's do this!" Ulrich states and takes Yumi's hand. Jeremie gives him a confused look. "But they haven't called yet…" he states.

Ulrich smiles and nods. "I know. They will be expecting us to wait for their call before making a move. This will throw them off their game plan," he replies. Jeremie nods, partially seeing Ulrich's point of view and takes his seat at the computer. "Alright, I'll start to virtualization process," he says and begins typing on the keyboard rapidly. The rest of the group enters the elevator and Yumi presses the down button. The doors close and Jeremie sees Odd give him a goofy grin and a thumbs up. Jeremie chuckles to himself and continues to work.

Yumi, Odd, and Aelita step into the scanner pods first and the doors close on each of them. "Ok, guys, the twins are in the mountain region. I'm sending you there!" Jeremie's voice echoes from the speakers hidden in the room. As the virtualization process commences, Ulrich and Atilea wait for their turn anxiously. Then, Atilea turns to Ulrich nervously. "Um, Ulrich?" "Yes, Atilea, what is it?" She cautiously steps towards him and replies nervously, "I may not get a chance to do this ever again, but I have to show you how much I really care for you." He turns and looks at her, unsure what she means. "Please, I hope you and Yumi can forgive me for what I'm about to do," she continues and he starts to say something but she steps very close to him and kisses him on the lips. His eyes widen in shock and his body seizes up and stiffens. She finally withdraws and turns away from him instantly as the doors to the scanner pods open. Ulrich stands frozen with shock as Atilea steps into the scanner pod.

"Ok, Ulrich, Atilea, you're up!" echoes Jeremie's voice. She looks up at him and gives him a smile through the tears that have begun to stream down her face. "Hey, Ulrich, what's going on down there? We have a time-table to keep! Get into the scanner!" Jeremie's voice rings. Atilea closes her eyes and hangs her head as Ulrich forces his body to respond. He turns slowly and steps into the scanner. He turns and the doors close on him as he gently touches his lips, still in shock from the kiss.

Yumi peeks nervously around the lip of the cave that she, Odd, and Aelita have taken refuge in. "Where are they?" she asks and feels a hand touch her shoulder gently. "Relax, Yumi. They'll be here," consoles Aelita, softy patting her shoulder. Then, Yumi sees Atilea virtualize out in the open and Ulrich virtualize in behind a large rock. He lands roughly and stands shakily. "Hey, Jeremie, is something wrong? Ulrich just landed kinda badly," Yumi asks. Jeremie scans the screen and shrugs. "No. Everything's fine. I guess he just didn't land right. His life-points are fine, so it probably wasn't anything to worry about," Jeremie replies. "Hey, relax, Yumi. He could have slipped on a rock or something when he landed," Odd says to Yumi. Yumi frowns and replies, "Ulrich doesn't slip on rocks. Something's wrong." "Well, worry about it later. Right now, we have a job to do," Jeremie states firmly. Yumi sighs and nods, knowing that he is right.

Ulrich glances over at Atilea, still shaken from her sudden kiss. Then his ears pick up several footsteps nearing the two of them. He sees Atilea tense up and clinch her fists. Though he cannot see who it is, he knows that it is the twins walking towards her. "Well, well, well. I guess they decided to let you go, huh?" Dod's voice echoes across the terrain. Ulrich's mind finally switches to battle-mode and he silently grips his katana, waiting for the right moment.

"You know, I really expected them to break the deal. Huh. Guess they don't care about you as much as you thought," Dod jibes coldly. Atilea presses her lips together and says nothing, staring blankly back at him. "What's the matter? They cut your tongue out?" he asks, crossing his arms. "Knock it off. Let's just get her to her pod. Master X.A.N.A. will extract any information from her later," Imuy states gruffly. Dod smiles devilishly at Atilea and chuckles. "That might be hard to do, Imuy," he says without turning to look at her. Imuy gives him a curious look. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asks. He chuckles evilly and a demonic grin forms on his lips as he turns to look at her. Imuy returns his strange gaze with a worried one.

"Just tell me one thing, Dod," Atilea says finally. Dod turns his head and shrugs. "I guess. If you make it your last request," he replies. "Fine. Whatever. Tell me how you three survived. We all saw you disintegrate," Atilea states. Dod gazes at her superiorly and replies, "You mean, you don't know?" Atilea crosses her arms and frowns. "If I did, I wouldn't have asked, you moron," she says coldly. Dod raises an eyebrow in shock. Imuy steps past him and answers her question. "All I know is that after I 'died', there was a blackness that surrounded me, then I woke up in my pod. Master X.A.N.A. then explained that he designed us so that in the event that one of us 'died', our bodies would be transferred back to the pods to be revitalized."

Dod grins big and adds, "Thus, we were rebirthed!" H'cirlu groans at his poor choice in words, especially since he used a word that did not exist. "It's 'reborn', you dolt! Get it right! You make yourself sound like an idiot every time you screw up like that!" he chides sternly. Dod frowns and glowers at him out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, well, you should know by now that he's not bright one of the group, H'cirlu," Atilea retorts. Dod shoots her an angry glance. "Shut up, you traitorous witch!" Atilea snorts and blows off his insult with a twitch of her nose.

Imuy frowns at Dod and continues, "Ignoring Dod's useless commentary, yes, we in a sense get reborn if we die here on Lyoko." Dod suddenly gets a demonic gleam in his eyes and begins chuckling evilly. "Well, all of us, except you, that is!" he says. Imuy, H'cirlu, and Atilea give him a confused look. "And why is that?" Imuy asks. Dod turns and the evil gleam in his eyes causes fear to stab her in the heart.

"Because I took the liberty of destroying her pod!" he states coldly.

Atilea gasps in shock and a look of terror forms on her face. Ulrich grows wide-eyed when the words hit his ears. Imuy gives Dod an appalled look. "Who told you to do that!" she asks, nearly hysterical. A devilish laugh resounds from his throat and gets a prideful look on his face.

"No one. I did it all on my own!" he replies, grinning proudly.

Imuy's mouth drops open and H'cirlu leans up from the rock he was leaning on, equally shocked. "She doesn't deserve to be reborn like us, the Children of X.A.N.A.! She betrayed her own kind and lost her birthright! Now, when she dies here, SHE STAYS DEAD!" Dod exclaims with a wild look in his eyes, then he suddenly calms down before continuing. "But, before she dies, she will know what suffering is! She owes me a lot of pain after what she did to me!" Imuy stands shocked and watches as he turns to a frightened Atilea, raising his right arm and cocking his laser arrow launcher. "I am so gonna enjoy torturing you, Hussy!" Dod says, narrowing his eyes and taking aim at her face. "Charged Laser Arrow!" he yells.

The shot rings out, and Atilea watches helplessly as it streaks towards her, seemingly in slow motion. Her eyes are locked onto the brilliantly glowing ball, unable to take them off the projectile. Suddenly, a brown blur moves between her and the projectile, but the movement is so fast that her eyes barely register it. Then, her mind deciphers the information fed in by her eyes and she realizes what the blur is. "Ulrich…" she whispers to herself, feeling her fears being drained away by his presence and a slight smile creeps across her lips.

Ulrich slashes his katana, connecting with the projectile, and sends it right back where it came from. Dod's eyes finally catch up to Ulrich's movements and sees his shot returning back to him, but at a faster speed than when it left. Dod barely has time to yelp when the shot slams into his chest, full force, sending him flying backwards. Imuy's eyes catch a brown blur rocketing toward her from in front of Atilea and attempts to reach for her fans, but suddenly feels a sharp pain in her hand.

Ulrich glances around after slicing the back of Imuy's hand and notices that everyone appears to moving in slow motion, but his attention is drawn back to Imuy when her cry of pain fills his ears. He spins around and slices her cheek, cutting off her cry. Then he slices down in an "x" pattern on her torso. Imuy stops making noises and a stunned look overtakes her face. Ulrich spins again, kicking her in the side of the head, sending her through the air on a collision course with a massive boulder. H'cirlu flinches when he sees Ulrich leap into the air at him. He manages to pull out a long needle-like shuriken and blocks Ulrich's katana mere centimeters from his face. H'cirlu's eyes widen in shock as Ulrich suddenly drops to the ground. Then, he feels his legs disappear out from underneath him. Again, Ulrich notices that everyone is apparently moving in slow motion and once again takes advantage of it. He slices H'cirlu three times and then leaps into the air, kicking out toward the still airborne H'cirlu. His foot connects with H'cirlu's ribs and he flies through the air.

Atilea's eyes manage to catch up with the blurs and she realizes that H'cirlu's body is flying straight for her. She instantly squats down and covers her head with her hands as H'cirlu's flailing body passes over her head. Then, she hears the thud of Dod's body hitting the ground some distance away, then Imuy's painful grunt as she collides with the boulder, finally hearing H'cirlu skid across the ground for a few seconds.

Yumi sees the dust plume from where H'cirlu struck the ground and exclaims, "There's our cue!" Odd and Aelita nods and follows her out of the cave in full sprint, trying to keep up with her. Yumi opens her fans and tosses at H'cirlu as he tries to sit up. Odd fires several rounds at him also. Aelita hangs back a bit, trying to see if her sister is alright.

Atilea raises her eyes to look at Ulrich and sees him standing where H'cirlu once stood, gritting his teeth and gripping his katana tightly. "Ulrich?" she whispers, but realizes her voice wasn't nearly loud enough for him to hear her. She stands slowly, keeping her eyes on him. She stares at him in total amazement, unsure if what she just witnessed him doing was real or a figment of her imagination. Ulrich relaxes a bit and his eyes move to look at her. He blinks as his mind begins to comprehend what he just did and then it begins to try to wander back to the kiss she gave him.

"Whoa, that was…wow…unbelievable…" Atilea manages to say as he begins to feel uncomfortable being near her. "You were moving so fast, I could hardly keep up with you!" she continues, still in awe of him. His uncomfortable-ness subsides and he nods slowly, giving her a slight smile. Then, a groan from behind him catches his attention and he turns to see Dod try to sit up. "Oh, no you don't!" Ulrich tells him and charges towards him.

Yumi dashes up next to a still amazed Atilea and glances curiously at her. Odd rushes past the two girls and follows Ulrich as he knocks Dod backwards again. Aelita jogs up to them and gently touches her sister's shoulder. "Atilea? Are you ok?" Aelita asks looking at her concerned. Atilea blinks in amazement and replies, "You should have seen it! Ulrich was moving so fast, I could barely keep up with his movements! I've never seen him move so fast! Wow, he was amazing!" Yumi gives her a questionable look and turns to see Ulrich and Odd returning. She notices that Odd is dragging an unconscious Dod behind him by the tail, smiling triumphantly. Yumi notices that Ulrich is sullen and isn't making eye contact with anyone, not even her.

"Where's H'cirlu? Has anybody checked to make sure he's still unconscious?" Ulrich asks with a mild gruffness in his voice that catches Yumi off guard. "Um, he's back there…" Aelita replies. "Fine. Odd, you can let go of Dod. He's not going anywhere anytime soon. I need you to go over to H'cirlu and make sure he doesn't wander off." Odd drops Dod's tail and seems oblivious to Ulrich's change in manner. He grins and salutes Ulrich. "Yes, Sir! Right away, Sir!" Odd says cheerfully. "Just go. Now, Imuy should be unconscious for a while," Ulrich says and Odd takes off. "Atilea, I need you to bind her and Dod to that boulder she is laying against. Yumi, Aelita, head to the activated tower and deactivate it."

Yumi gives him a worried look, causing him to stop. "What?" he asks. "Um, the tower deactivated by itself once you two arrived," Aelita replies, eyeing him concernedly. "Ulrich, something's bothering you. What is it?" Yumi asks, growing more concerned for her boyfriend. Atilea drops her eyes to the ground, knowing that it is her fault he is acting this way. Ulrich looks at Yumi blankly and pauses for a second before replying. "Nothing. I'm fine," he states blandly and glances down at Dod. He reaches down and grabs Dod's tail and drags him to the boulder.

Yumi gets an exasperated look on her face and follows him. "Ulrich, please, _please_, don't lie to me! It would break my heart if you did! Tell me what's wrong! I want to help!" she pleads. He pauses for a second then resumes. Aelita notices her sister begins to tremble and looks at her concerned. "Atilea, you know something about his change in behavior. What is it?" Aelita asks her. Yumi turns to look at Atilea, hearing Aelita's question. Ulrich stands up after he finished propping Dod and Imuy up against the boulder, and walks past Yumi. Atilea turns her head away from Aelita's and Yumi's gaze. Yumi sees Ulrich walk on and reaches out and grabs his arm. She spins him around and stares into his brown eyes.

"Ulrich Stern, tell me what is going on, please! I have to know!" she pleads, her voice shaking with worry and pain. He blinks and looks back at her, wanting to tell her. "N—not now, Yumi. We have too much to do before we can talk about it," he replies gently. Yumi releases him and a pain hits her heart, fearing what he may have to say. Atilea shakes her head. "No, Ulrich! I have to tell her now! I can't take the two of you fighting like this!" she blurts out. Yumi looks up at her and gives her a questionable look. "It's all my fault, Yumi! Ulrich is innocent! I…." Atilea starts, looking up at her remorsefully, but is cut off by a frantic yell from Odd.

"Ulrich! We have a problem! A BIG problem!" Odd bellows and the group turns to look at him. Ulrich sees him jogging towards them and asks, "What are you doing? I asked you to watch H'cirlu!" "That's just it! H'cirlu's gone! I was watching him and then he opened his eyes, then poof! He vanished!" Odd replies. Ulrich's face turns ashen and he grits his teeth. "Oh, no… He used his teleport technique to escape. Crap. I forgot about that ability. I should have realized. Sorry," Ulrich says, calming down. He runs his hands down his face and turns to Yumi. He gives her a remorseful look and then continues, "We need to find him. And quickly!" Atilea looks up at him nervously and slightly shamefully. "Do…you think you can keep up with his speed again?" she asks.

Ulrich glances at her quickly and replies, "No, I don't. I think it was a fluke that I did in the first place." He hangs his head and shakes it, closing his eyes and frowning at himself. "I feel like I've screwed everything up," he states and rests his head in his right hand. Yumi cautiously walks up to him and slides an arm around his waist, giving him a gentle hug. "No, you haven't, Ulrich. From what I see, you've done a great job. You managed to knock out two out of the three twins," she says comfortingly, then she leans close to his ear and whispers into it. "And whatever is, bothering you, I promise I'll be there with you through it. I love you, Ulrich, and I'm sorry if I pressed you too hard to tell me what's wrong," she whispers and gently kisses his cheek.

Ulrich feels a load lift off his shoulders and pulls Yumi closer to him, then plants a big kiss on her lips. "I love you too, Yumi, and I'm sorry for being snappy with you and everyone else," he says apologetically. Yumi smiles at him and nods, following up with a hug.

"Aww, isn't that sweet?" comes a sarcastic voice from behind them. The group whirls around to see H'cirlu standing on a boulder some distance away with the still unconscious Dod and Imuy sitting next to him. "Oh, snap…" Aelita says. Yumi turns slowly to look at her and asks, "Where'd you pick that up from?" Aelita shrugs and answers, "TV?" H'cirlu raises an eyebrow and frowns. Ulrich shakes his head and curses himself for not paying close enough attention to the other two twins.

"You did a good job, Ulrich. You actually impressed me. No body ever impresses me. However, since you did attack us, and during the one hour given to you by us to consider our offer, the deal is off. You will be exterminated. All of you! Though, most of you will end up back in the real world, however, Atilea will just die!" H'cirlu declares.

Ulrich glances at Atilea out of the corner of his eye and replies, "That's not entirely true." "Oh? Care to enlighten me an that subject?" H'cirlu asks, raising a dubious eyebrow. Ulrich smiles and says, "You see, since she's based on Aelita's DNA, she has the same properties as Aelita. Now, ever since Aelita gained all her memories, even the ones X.A.N.A. stole to keep her tied to Lyoko and to himself, she's been able to de-virtualize similar to us. If I'm not mistaken, your lousy master copied our DNA to create you after that time when Aelita became whole again! Therefore, Atilea is capable of going the same way! Oh, and FYI, it has been proven to work like that!"

Odd gives Ulrich a stunned look. "Whoa! For a second there, I thought Jeremie had taken your place! Dude, you sounded way too smart to be yourself!" he exclaims.

H'cirlu narrows his eyes and frowns, snorting in disinterest. "Whatever. I don't care. Just know that you will die here today!" he states, pulling out a rather large object from behind him. He holds it out at arms length to the side and smiles. Ulrich studies this strange new weapon and sees that it appears to have four blades attached to a center ring, but the blades are stacked on top of each other. H'cirlu twirls the object once around and grabs the ring tightly, but the stack of blades continue to spin around on the ring, with each blade locking into place at four equidistant points on the ring, creating a large, four bladed fan-like shuriken.

"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this…" Odd states, staring at the oversized shuriken. H'cirlu smiles and says, "You're right to have a bad feeling about this!" Then, the blades of the shuriken begin to spin on their own as H'cirlu stares at the stunned group below him. "DEMON WIND SHURIKEN! TORNADO-BLAST!" he yells at throws the shuriken at them. The groups watches as the shuriken streaks towards them, stunned. Suddenly, a massive tornado begins forming around the shuriken, growing bigger every second.

"Jeremie, we need the vehicles, NOW!" Yumi exclaims as the group suddenly turns and runs away from the rapidly closing in tornado. Jeremie frantically types on the keyboard and replies, "I'm working on it! Head for the cave you were in!" Atilea glances behind her and sees that the tornado is closing in faster. Then, she looks at Ulrich and feels a strange feeling in her heart. She presses her lips together as she feels the love for him rise up again inside her. She stops running, knowing what she must do. Atilea turns toward the tornado as the rest of the group dashes into the cave. Aelita gasps as she sees her sister standing in the path of the coming onslaught.

"ATILEA!" Aelita yells above the torrential noise of the tornado. The rest turn and sees Atilea raising her hands toward the tornado. "What is she doing!" exclaims Ulrich and starts to super-sprint out of the cave to get her, but Yumi and Odd grabs his arms to stop him. "Ulrich! Stop! You can't help her!" Odd exclaims, straining to keep him of him. Suddenly, a foot slams into his chest, knocking him backwards. Before Yumi can comprehend what just happened to Odd, she feels Ulrich rip his arm out of her grip and sees him sprint out into the nearing storm.

Atilea grits her teeth, trying to build up enough energy fast enough to release. Then, she hears something behind her and glances back. Her eyes widen as she sees Ulrich streaking towards her. "No! Go back!" she shouts at him, causing him to stop midway to her. She returns her attention to the tornado, which is almost on top of her. "Atilea! You can't! You'll be killed!" Ulrich pleads. She painfully ignores his words and forces herself to remain focused.

Suddenly, Ulrich feels something grab his collar and yank him upward. He glances up to see Odd on his Overboard and blinks in mild shock. He looks back down to see Atilea with a golden glow around her body.

Atilea strains against the force of the tornado that threatens to suck her into it. "Just….a …. few…. seconds…more!" she says through gritted teeth. H'cirlu watches in confidence safely from his perch behind the tornado, waiting to hear the screams of terror from the humans and the traitor. Atilea feels her body begin to slide forward toward the tornado. She narrows her eyes determinedly and finally gathers the last bit of required energy. Then, she suddenly lets out a yell at the top of her lungs and the golden glow around her erupts into a fiery flame. Then, a massive tornado of her own forms around her. H'cirlu gets a look of shock on his face as the second tornado appears, seemingly out of nowhere. Odd accidentally drops Ulrich on the floor of the cave hard as they stare in awe at the sight. Jeremie stares at his screen in confusion until he realizes what Atilea is trying to do. "She's trying to create a counter-acting tornado! It would be brilliant if it weren't so dangerous! Gotta do something to help!" he whispers and begins to tap on the keyboard.

The two counter-twisting tornados collide and a sudden out-rush of wind tosses huge boulders around like leaves in a breeze. A massive amount of dust and dirt shoot in all directions, lowering visibility to nearly zero. The force of the wind knocks everyone in the cave to the ground and H'cirlu manages to catch the returning shuriken before he takes refuge behind a small ledge. Then, the roar of the wind suddenly subsides and the dust and dirt in the air begins to settle. H'cirlu begins to cough, then grabs his two comrades, and teleports away, feeling very angry and enraged that his plan failed. Yumi sits up and shakes her head. She sees Ulrich stand up and wipe the dirt off his face. He stares out into the settling dust, straining to see anything that proves Atilea is alive still. Aelita suddenly rushes past him into the dust cloud. "ATILEA! ATILEA! WHERE ARE YOU!" she shouts frantically. Odd brushes the dirt off him and sees Yumi chase after Ulrich as he runs out the cave entrance. Odd frowns as he realizes he's the last one in the cave. "Oh, don't mind me! I'm fine! Thanks for caring, guys!" he says sarcastically and jogs out of the cave.

Aelita runs into Ulrich accidentally and nearly falls, but he catches her. "Ulrich! Where is my sister! Where is she!" she asks him frantically. She lays her head on his chest as Yumi catches up with him. "I don't know. Visibility is too low still," he replies and gently pats her back. Ulrich sees Yumi and shakes his head, indicating that there is no hope Atilea survived. Yumi's shoulders sag in sorrow and Odd jogs up to them, coughing. "Man, this stuff chokes a guy worse than Jim's cologne!" he says frowning. Aelita lifts her head and stares into Ulrich's eyes. "Find her. Find my sister. Please!" she says sternly, despite her trembling. He glances at Yumi and nods, but says nothing. He hands Aelita over to Yumi and sprints off into the dust cloud. He notices that visibility is returning and scans the area. Then, he sees a dirt covered figure on the ground a ways off. "Jeremie, I need my Overbike, please," he says softly. Jeremie nods and the bike virtualizes next to Ulrich. Ulrich hops on the bike and speeds off toward the figure. Yumi holds a sobbing Aelita and gently rubs her back soothingly. "Please, let her be alive! I don't want to be an orphan again!" Aelita sobs loudly, causing Yumi and Odd to look at each other, remembering the last time she called herself that.

Ulrich stops the Overbike and climbs off it. He walks slowly over to the figure on the ground, knowing full well that it is Atilea, despite that it is covered in a thick layer of dust. He kneels down and gingerly touches the form and feels bare skin. He brushes some dust off the form, revealing a black with red trim shirt. Ulrich realizes she's face down and gently rolls her motionless body over onto her back. He feels himself begin to tremble as he tries to find a pulse in her neck, but gives up when is hand begins to tremble too much to get an accurate feel. "Atilea…wake up! Please, wake up!" he whispers and brushes a strand of her pink hair out of her face. He cradles her upper body in his lap as the sound of the others coming over to him fills his ears. Aelita leaps off the Overwing before Yumi has a chance to land and runs toward him. She stops short of him as she sees her sister lying motionless. "No…" Aelita manages to get out before she drops to her knees, crying. Ulrich watches her crawl over to him and he hands Atilea to her. He backs away and stands, letting her cradle her sister's body. Ulrich walks slowly over to Yumi and she wraps her arms around him.

"I wasn't fast enough…. I should have saved her…." he whispers and she gently rubs her hands over his back comfortingly. "You did your best, Ulrich, and she knew what she was doing," she consoles, even though she knows it doesn't lessen the pain. Aelita sobs and clutches her sister's body tightly. "No…don't leave me, Sis! I don't wanna be alone again!" she pleads softly.

"I'd….never leave….you alone…..Sis," comes a weak voice. Aelita jumps, startled by the sudden voice, and sees Atilea's eyes flit open slightly. Aelita squeals with glee and relief as a small smile forms on Atilea's lips. "You're alive….YOU'RE ALIVE!" Aelita exclaims and hugs her sister tightly, but loosens her grip as she hears Atilea cough a couple of times. Yumi smiles and hugs Ulrich tightly as she feels Odd's hand pat her on the shoulder. Aelita helps Atilea sit up and brushes the dust off her shirt and face. Then the two sister's embrace again. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" Aelita commands. Atilea chuckles and replies, "I wouldn't dream of it…"

Meanwhile, Dod opens his eyes and blinks, trying to get them to focus properly. Suddenly, he sits up quickly and glances around wildly. "Wha—what happened? Where am I?" he asks. Then, he realizes he is in the forest sector. "What am I doing here?" He turns and sees a frowning H'cirlu with Imuy leaning against him. "And what's with you two? That's scary and rather…gross," Dod finishes as he stands. "We were beaten again," H'cirlu states angrily. "And for your information, what is between us is none of your business. We have too much to do to dwell on small things. Or have you forgotten that?" Dod blinks as the memories of a brown blur hitting him fills his mind. Then, an angry frown appears on his face as he realizes H'cirlu is right.

"Are they still on Lyoko?" Dod asks, turning away from the two. "Yes," comes the reply from H'cirlu. "Good. It's payback time," Dod states coldly and cracks his knuckles. "We can hit them when they least expect it!"


	11. From Bad to Worse

_**Disclaimer: **I own nuthin'…especially NOT the Village People…_

_There really isn't much to say about this chapter, except that it's a knock-down, drag-out free-for-all! Action lovers enjoy! However, prepare yourselves for a BIG turn of events at the end…hence the title._

**Code: Lyoko **

**Mirror, Mirror **

**Part IX: From Bad to Worse**

Odd finds himself in a serious situation. Shortly after Atilea woke up from her little nap following her awesome tornado creation thing, and also following the subsequent argument on who was the most awesome fighter, Ulrich with his super-"you look like you're in slow motion"-speed or Atilea with her "stop right there" tornado, the twins decided to spring a surprise attack. Odd leaps up and off a rock just as one of Imuy's fans zips beneath him. He fires, but Imuy simply blocks his shots with her other fan. "Energy Wave!" she yells and swipes her fan, releasing a wave towards him. Odd leaps over the wave just as she launches another one. "Shield!" he says, crossing his arms in front of him. The wave collides with the shield, protecting him from the blow, but not from the inertia. It knocks him backwards onto the ground and he realizes that he is once again trapped in the corner of the small outcropping. Odd backs against the rock face and frantically tries to figure out a way to escape.

Ulrich desperately defends Aelita from Dod's constant barrage of laser arrows as Yumi and a weakened Atilea fend off a relentless triple take of H'cirlu. Dod extends his claws, taking a swipe at Ulrich, but Ulrich dodges the attack, then deflects another following close behind it. Aelita crouches behind him, trying to find an opening where she can run to the nearby cave. Two of the three H'cirlus sprint in different directions and Yumi tosses a fan at each one as Atilea blocks a shuriken thrown from the third H'cirlu.

"I can't keep this up forever! I'm gonna give out soon!" Atilea whispers to Yumi as they back up against each other's back. "I may be strong, but I used a heck of a lot of power pulling off that tornado." Yumi nods and catches her fans. "I know what you mean. I'm not even sure how long I can last either. Ulrich, however, seems to have the easiest one out of all the twins!" Yumi says and deflects a shuriken. "Who, Dod? He's not that weak. The only thing that really makes him weak is his anger, which even then, is dangerous. One, when he gets angry, he gets sloppy in his fighting and starts making mistakes, but two, he gets very ruthless," replies Atilea. Yumi frowns as her tossed fan gets knocked away. "I need to create a weapon for my sister, Yumi. Do you think you can cover me long enough to do it?" asks Atilea. Yumi glances from one copy of H'cirlu to another. "Possibly. How long will it take?" she asks. "Creating the staff is the easy part. Getting it into Aelita's hands is another thing. Really depends on if they try to stop her from getting it or not," Atilea replies as she sees one of the H'cirlu copies make a taunting face at her. "Do you have the energy left to create a staff?" Yumi asks as she blocks another shuriken. "Geez, how many of those things does he have?" Atilea frowns and turns her head slightly to look at Yumi. "I don't know if I do or not, but it's a risk I'm willing to take!" she says and deflects a shuriken. "Well, just don't die or pass out before you have a chance to tell me what was, or is, wrong with Ulrich, ok?" Yumi replies, glancing back at her. Atilea nods and says, "Don't worry. I'll tell you, if you promise me one thing." Yumi pauses for a second then answers, "Ok, what is it?" "Promise me that you will NOT blame Ulrich, that you won't get mad at him, or accuse him of anything," Atilea states. "Just know that it was all my fault, not his." Yumi gives her a questionable look and frowns slightly, wondering just how bad this thing is. "Ok, I promise. I…trust you. I just hope you don't break that trust." Atilea smiles slightly. "Believe me, the last thing I want to do is get on your bad side. That's one of the reasons I want to tell you what I did. I don't you to have to find out about it second, third, or even fourth hand. You're a good friend, Yumi, and I don't want to loose that." Yumi feels a bit of weight lift off her mind and returns her smile with one of her own, relieved that Atilea is willing to talk about it. "Ok, I'll cover you! Get to work, Tornado-Girl!"

Ulrich slowly goes down to his knee under the pressure of Dod's claw attack, while straining to keep the attack at bay. "What's the matter, Ulrich? Can't handle the pressure?" Dod retorts, shoving his clawed hand downward, causing Ulrich to go lower to the ground. Ulrich grunts as he tries to shove his katana upwards, but Dod's strength holds it in place. "Don't give up now! It would be a shame for you to crack under it all!" Ulrich raises his eyes to look at Dod. "Geez, your…jokes are…almost as bad as…Odd's!" he says, straining to get the words out. Dod snorts, finding Ulrich's jibe funny. "Oh, and like you're the one who's joke-master, Mr. Pessimistic!" Ulrich sees that Dod is distracted by his put-downs and swings a leg to trip him.

Dod feels his legs fly out from under him and tries to catch himself, but a kick from Ulrich prevents him. Dod lands with a thud and Ulrich stabs down toward him with his katana. Dod rolls out of the way just in time and fires at Ulrich. Ulrich leaps back and deflects the laser arrow as Dod stands. Aelita yelps in surprise as on of Dod's arrows gets past Ulrich's defense and zings by her left ear. Then, her eye catches something coming towards her. She turns to look and sees that Atilea has tossed her a staff. She smiles and reaches for it, but Dod fires and knocks it way just before she can grab it. Ulrich super sprints towards Dod, trying to buy Aelita enough time to get the staff. Dod swipes a clawed hand at Ulrich, but Ulrich leaps up and over him. Dod turns and attacks as Aelita dashes to the staff and picks it up. She smiles and twirls it, getting the feel for it.

Odd fires at Imuy, but she back-flips away from him, avoiding his laser arrows. He charges her and leaps into the air as she starts another back-flip. He kicks out and times the hit as she exits the back-flip. Imuy gasps as she sees his foot mere inches from her face. She has no time to react and the kick sends her stumbling backwards. Odd charges again and as Imuy starts to regain her balance, Odd punches her in the face. She yelps in pain and one of the H'cirlus turn instantly to see her fall to the ground and Odd pounce on her chest, pinning her shoulders to the ground. He grits his teeth in anger and phases away. Yumi sees this and yells, "Odd, look out!" Odd pauses and hears him phase in behind him. Odd ducks a kick, falling very close to Imuy's face. She stares at him, unable to move or say anything. Imuy feels Odd's breath against her cheek and a strange sensation begins to rise up in her. Then, Odd leaps straight up, avoiding another attack, and fires at the H'cirlu copy. Imuy lays there, motionless, wondering what this strange feeling is until H'cirlu's voice distracts her. "Don't you touch her!" he bellows and swings his sword at Odd. She blinks and sits up, watching Odd duck and dodge H'cirlu's attacks. "Gee, I didn't think guys cared that much about each other!" Odd says and glances at Imuy. Imuy stands and calls out to H'cirlu, "Leave him alone! He's mine!" H'cirlu stops and turns to look at her questionably. "What?" he asks her. "He's mine! I will deal with him myself, H'cirlu! I don't need your help…on this one," Imuy replies. H'cirlu blinks in confusion but then concedes to her request. "Fine. I'll remember this the next time you ask me for help," he says and phases away. Odd blinks in his own confusion and eyes Imuy questionably. "What was that all about? Having a little lover's quarrel?" Odd asks her. Imuy frowns and blushes slightly. "None of your business, Odd!" she replies and tosses a fan at him. He smiles to himself as he shoots the fan away.

Aelita deflects several shots from Dod as Ulrich stands after being knocked to the ground. Dod growls as his rage begins to grow. Aelita sees Dod charge her and gets ready for whatever he tries. Ulrich sprints up behind him, catching him off guard, and slices Dod's back, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. Aelita smiles and attacks, hitting Dod first in the ribs, then on the side of his thigh, causing both his knees to buckle, then finally hits him in the face, sending him to the ground. Ulrich looks up at her and raises his eyebrows in amazement. "Wow, you've gotten a whole lot better, Aelita!" he complements and she smiles humbly at him.

Yumi and Atilea manage to get two of the copies to meld back together, leaving only two H'cirlus to deal with. Both copies frown in anger at the two girls as they stand ready before them. "You were lucky. Don't think it was anything but that," snorts both H'cirlus. Yumi smirks and opens her fans as Atilea turns her escrima sticks into tonfas. Then, both of the H'cirlu copies pull out a Demon Wind Shuriken. Yumi and Atilea both get wide-eyed and tense up. "Oh, boy. This is bad…" Yumi whispers to Atilea. "There's no way I can counter-act another tornado, much less two!" Atilea whispers back to her. "I was also seriously hoping that we'd seen the last of that thing," Yumi replies back. "Hopefully one of them is fake and that he doesn't have two real ones!" Atilea whispers, trying to sound positive. A confident laugh comes from both H'cirlus as the two girls braces themselves. "One of these shuriken is the real Demon Wind Shuriken. You have to figure out which one of them it is before you and the rest of your pitiful little band gets swept away into the Digital Sea!" "You do realize that if you throw that here and now, everyone including your 'little band' will end up in the Digital Sea?" Yumi asks, hoping to stall him long enough to figure out which is the real shuriken. H'cirlu raises an eyebrow and replies, "Hmph, nice try, Yumi, but trying to get me to stall isn't going to work. I'm not worried about Imuy and Dod. Imuy, I know can handle herself. Dod, well, I'm sure he can escape, but only if he wants to. Sometimes he can be a bit bull headed and go after something so relentlessly, even if he gets hurt in the process." Yumi frowns as her plan fails before take-off and Atilea leans her head toward her. "What now?" she asks. Yumi thinks for a minute before replying. "We attack both shuriken at the same time. If we hit them hard enough, maybe we can stop the formation of any tornados. We just have to wait until gets ready to throw them, then we hit the shuriken with all we got!" Atilea nods, agreeing with Yumi's plan.

Imuy yells in anger as Odd leaps up after knocking her down again. "Energy Wave!" she shouts and lets loose a wave towards Odd. "Shield!" Odd shouts and crosses his arms. The wave collides with the shield and Odd slides backwards, straining against the force of the blow. Suddenly he finds himself in trouble as Imuy charges him. He manages to dodge her first attack and block the second, but her third swipe of her fan catches him across the chest. Odd falls backward, clutching his chest. "Odd! Get out of there! That one hit took sixty-five life points out of you!" Jeremie exclaims. Odd sits up painfully and winces. "Ok, note to self, do not let fans hit body again. Thanks, Jeremie," he replies. Imuy steps a foot over him and he freezes as she kneels down, pushing him back down to the ground with her knee pressing against his chest. She opens her fan and gently brings it down to his neck. "Well, so much for my note to self. Hi, Imuy!" She smiles demonstratively at him and replies, "Well, this is a change of scenery. Before, you were the one pinning me down! Now, it's my turn to do the pinning! Any last words?" Odd blinks and gives her a strained smile. "Um, how about giving me a five minute hand start before dealing the final blow?" he asks. Imuy snickers and shakes her head. "Four minutes? Three? Two? One? Ok, thirty seconds! How's that?" She can't help but chuckle at his desperation and he puts on a pouting face that causes her to pause. He sticks out his bottom lip, causing her to giggle. "Better pull that lip back in before I cut it off!" Imuy states.

Then, a noise catches their attention. Imuy and Odd turns their heads to see Dod getting hit simultaneously by Ulrich and Aelita. He flies backward and lands hard on the ground. "Dude, Dod's getting thrashed…" Odd states and Imuy frowns at Dod as he scrambles to stand up before Ulrich or Aelita can do anything else to him. "Yeah, he is. And the only reason he is getting thrashed, is because he lets his anger cloud is mind. He starts making mistakes. Ooh, like that one…" Imuy says just as Dod lets his arms drop, giving Ulrich a perfect opening for attack. Ulrich slashes at Dod, connecting with his head, sending him to the ground once again. "That's gotta hurt," Odd says and Imuy nods in agreement. She looks back down at Odd and asks, "Enjoying yourself down there?" Odd looks up at her and replies, "Um, no offense, but no, not really. My arms are pinned to my sides with your legs and you're sitting on my chest. Can't exactly defend myself like this." Imuy giggles and a devious gleam appears in her eye that makes him nervous.

Then a yell from Yumi and Atilea catches everyone's attention. Yumi throws her fans at the same time Atilea instantly creates a large rock and hurls it. Both the rock and the fans collide with both copies of the Demon Wind Shuriken head on. A look of surprise crosses both H'cirlu's faces as the fake and real Demon Wind Shuriken break up on impact. "Well, that worked better than I thought!" Yumi says, looking at the broken pieces lying on the ground. She catches her fans and eyes the still stunned H'cirlus. Atilea leans against her, trying to fight her exhaustion and smiles. "Yeah, wonder which one was the real one?" she says, with obvious signs of tiredness in her voice. Yumi glances at her, then wraps an arm around her waist to help her stay standing. "Who cares? They're both destroyed, which means the real one was destroyed," Yumi replies as Atilea wraps an arm around her to help support her weight as well. The H'cirlus glare at the two girls and grit their teeth. "Rejoin," H'cirlu states and the copy slides over and melds into him, leaving only one H'cirlu.

"He doesn't look too happy," Odd says. Imuy frowns slightly and replies, "He never looks happy unless he's winning a fight." She pauses and whispers, "Well, there was that night he and I snuck out of our pods…." Odd gasps and gives her a disgusted look. "Whoa! TMI, Imuy! I really don't want to hear about that!" Odd exclaims and she glances down at him, blushing. He frowns at her and continues, "You know if you are going to finish me off, just do it! Having you sit on my chest is getting, um, disconcerting, especially after that little bit of insight into your private life!" Imuy blinks and tilts her head slightly, than a slight smile crosses her lips and she shrugs. "Ok, why not? Bye, Odd!" she replies and kisses the air at him. He gets a horrified look on his face at her gesture, then sees her raise the fan to strike. Suddenly, something smacks her across the face, sending her flying backwards off him. Odd blinks in shock, then turns his head to see Aelita standing over him, watching Imuy roll over onto her stomach.

"Oh! Aelita! Nice to see you!" Odd chirps happily and leaps up off the ground promptly. She glances at him and smiles, then returns her gaze back to Imuy. "That was way too close for comfort!" he says as the two see Imuy flip up to her feet. She eyes them angrily and opens her fan, then begins to charge it up.

Meanwhile, Ulrich smiles as Dod ends up on the ground again. Dod's face scrunches with pain for a second, then he glares at Ulrich as Ulrich raises his katana to strike. Ulrich swings down, but his attack stops short suddenly. He blinks in confusion, then sees the Dod has caught his katana. Dod growls in anger and forces himself up while shoving Ulrich backwards. "Did you really think that I'd be that easy to beat?" Dod asks and rips the katana out of Ulrich's hands. Ulrich backs way from the advancing Dod as Dod tosses the katana over the edge of the cliff. "Oh, geez, I'm in trouble…" Ulrich whispers to himself. "Triangulate!" Ulrich shouts and super-sprints around Dod. Dod blinks unamused as the yellow triangle forms around him with a copy of Ulrich in each corner. "Oh, please, you really think I'm just a brainless brute that can be tricked by such a simple optical illusion?" Dod asks frowning in tedium. He closes his eyes and begins to focus on the movements of Ulrich. Then, he opens his eyes and Ulrich sees that they are glowing. Dod then begins to follow him perfectly. "I see you!" Dod says and fires. Ulrich leaps up as the laser arrow flies by. Then, Dod quickly fires two more shots, destroying the Ulrich copies easily. Ulrich stops sprinting behind a rock as Dod turns to walk toward him. "Shotgun!" Dod yells and fires, blowing a chuck of the rock away. Ulrich gasps and scrunches down behind the rock, trying to think of a way to escape. Three more shots ring out and Ulrich's cover gets whittled down even more.

Aelita frantically dodges and blocks Imuy's swipes of her fans. Odd fires several times, but Imuy acrobatically avoids them. She tosses a fan at him and Odd raises his shield to protect himself. Aelita swings her staff at Imuy's head but it gets blocked. Then, Aelita feels Imuy's foot slam into her stomach. She falls backward and Imuy leaps into the air, tossing her fan down at her. Aelita gasps and frantically tries to block the fan. Then, a shot from Odd knocks it away. Imuy grunts and psychokinetically brings her fans back to her. Aelita stands as Imuy tosses a fan at the two of them. Odd dodges the fan but feels Imuy's foot meet the side of his head. Aelita rushes to help him but Imuy grabs a returning fan and swipes at her. Aelita blocks the attack and tries to hold her ground, but Imuy's relentless attacks cause her to take steps backwards. "Energy Wave!" Imuy suddenly shouts and Aelita turns her staff vertical to stop the oncoming wave. The wave collides with the staff and Aelita tries to hold it back, but she finds herself being shoved backwards by the power of the wave. Then, she hears her staff crack under the pressure and frantically looks around for a way out. Aelita then gets an idea and plants the end of the staff in the ground and pole-vaults over the wave. She lands and sighs in relief. Imuy grunts in anger as she sees Aelita has managed to avoid her attack. Odd stands shakily and sees Imuy attack Aelita again, with Aelita desperately blocking her attacks. He fires several shots, but Imuy blocks them all.

Atilea slumps to the ground in exhaustion, unable to even lift a tonfa in her defense. Yumi steps between her and H'cirlu, trying to figure out a way to save the both of them. "I'm…sorry, Yumi. I can't go on…" Atilea says apologetically. "It's ok. You did your best, Atilea. Jeremie, can you get her out of here?" Yumi replies. "Yes, but it may take a couple of minutes. Oh, no! Ulrich, look out!" Jeremie says as the rock Ulrich is hiding behind turns into rumble by a swipe of Dod's claws. Yumi glances over at Ulrich and sees him super-sprint away at the last second. She sighs in relief that he escaped, then returns her attention to H'cirlu. He regards her in anger as she tosses her fans at him. H'cirlu uses his sword to deflect the fans and super-sprints toward her. Yumi gasps and finds her feet unable to respond quick enough. He slashes her across the middle, knocking her backwards, over a ducking Atilea. She lands hard and sees him raise the sword to stab a defenseless Atilea. She grabs the nearest thing to her hand and throws it at him. A look of surprise forms on his face as he sees a needle-like shuriken flying towards him. He leaps back and deflects it away as Yumi leaps up and runs to Atilea's defense. "Yumi, you can't get hit again! You've got ten life points left!" Jeremie advises firmly. She grits her teeth upon hearing the news. "Fine! Get Atilea out of here first! I'll try to hold him off long enough!" Yumi states and psychokinetically brings one of her fans back to her. She opens it and swipes at H'cirlu. "Hang on, Atilea! I'll get you home!" Jeremie says, encouragingly. "What about my sister? Can you get her home safely too?" Atilea asks and tries to sit up. "Yeah, I can. Just rest. You'll be home in a minute," Jeremie replies.

Odd feels Imuy tighten the grip on his neck as she picks him up off the ground. He fights against her grip but she tightens her grip again. Aelita swings a part of her now broken staff at Imuy, trying to distract her enough so that her grip loosens on Odd's neck, but Imuy catches the staff and rips it away from Aelita. Then she smacks Aelita with it, sending her to the ground. Odd wraps a leg around Imuy's arm and pries his neck out of her grip, and flips down to the ground, but is met by a swift kick to the gut. Imuy quickly produces a fan and throws it at him just as he crashes to the ground. It hits him squarely in the chest and he de-virtualizes. "No! Odd!" Aelita exclaims as the last of him fades away. "Don't worry, I got him! He's safe!" Jeremie tells her. Imuy turns to Aelita and grimaces.

"Ulrich! Watch out!" Jeremie shouts and Ulrich turns to see Dod fire. Ulrich super-sprints away just as the blast of laser arrows creates a hole in the rock face. Dod grits his teeth and says, "Full auto! Give up, Ulrich! You have no hope of winning!" Ulrich sprints away with Dod's laser arrow spray following his every turn and jump. Dod begins to laugh manically and follows Ulrich as he sprints across the landscape.

Atilea gasps as Yumi gets punched to the ground. "Jeremie, what's taking so long? You should have had Atilea out of here by now!" Yumi exclaims and stands. "I'm doing my best! I'm having a little difficulty getting the program to stay loaded! Give me another minute to free up more resources!" Jeremie replies, typing frantically on the keyboard. Atilea groans and replies, "She can't last another minute, Jeremie! Forget me. Get the other's out of here first!" Yumi turns and glares at her. "No! Not a chance! Jeremie, focus on getting her out of here first! She's in more danger of not getting back than I am!" Yumi states sternly. Atilea grunts in disappointment. "Hey, let me handle that, Yumi! I can get everyone back, don't worry about that!" Jeremie replies, equally stern. Yumi sighs and relents, turning back to H'cirlu.

Aelita runs behind a boulder as Imuy throws a fan at her. The fan bounces off the boulder and she brings it back to her mentally. She eyes the boulder and sees Aelita's pink head peek around the edge. Imuy smiles and raises a hand toward the boulder and begins to lift it psychokinetically. Aelita gasps as her hiding spot begins to disappear. Then, a crazy idea pops into her pink-haired head. "It might just work," Aelita whispers and leaps up on the rising boulder, clinging to it desperately. A confused look forms on Imuy's face as Aelita is nowhere to be seen as the boulder rises up enough to see behind it. "Where'd she go?" Imuy muses and then an impressed smile forms on her lips as she realizes there is only one place Aelita can be. "Very clever, Aelita," she says and begins to swing the boulder around in a circle. Aelita hangs on for dear life as Imuy speeds up the boulder's swing. Then, Imuy lets the boulder loose and it flies straight for a mountain. Aelita grows wide-eyed as the mountain rapidly grows bigger in her view. Then, at the last second, Aelita leaps off the boulder and lands, looking up to watch it crash into the side of the mountain. She sees rubble begin to fall towards her and she sprints away as large chunks of the boulder crash down all around her.

Dod chases Ulrich as he runs across the landscape, desperately trying to avoid Dod's six round bursts. Then he sees H'cirlu a little ways away and an idea pops into his head. Ulrich glances back quickly and sees the enraged Dod still following him. He veers towards H'cirlu, slowing down enough to keep Dod firing and within distance. _C'mon, Dod, keep following me! Just a little farther!_ Ulrich thinks as he keeps tabs on where Dod is behind him. "Hope this works," he says as they near a still oblivious H'cirlu.

H'cirlu grimaces angrily as Yumi once again acrobatically avoids his attack. "Hold still, you nimble minx!" he says snidely. Yumi gives him a quick glance before noticing Ulrich leading an oblivious and enraged Dod toward H'cirlu. She instantly reads what he's planning and turns to taunt and distract H'cirlu. "You know, the real Ulrich would have beaten me by now! Guess you're not really more powerful than him!" she states provokingly. H'cirlu pauses in shock, then growls in anger at her. He draws his sword again and prepares to attack. Suddenly, a gust of wind whooshes behind him, then feels several hits from what felt like laser arrows. As he turns, a surprised Dod crashes headlong into him, sending the both of them tumbling to the ground. Ulrich sprints back around and snatches H'cirlu's sword that he lost in the collision, then darts beside Yumi. She jumps slightly at his sudden appearance, then gives him a big warm smile. The two tangled twins roll across the ground before separating. Dod leaps up, fuming at H'cirlu. H'cirlu stands and glares back at him. "Watch where you're going, H'cirlu!" Dod fires off at him. H'cirlu gives him a shocked look. "What? Are you crazy? You were the one that ran into me! If anyone should watch where they're going, it's you!" he bellows back. Dod steps closer to him and gets in his face. "I was watching where I was going, you big oaf! You stepped right in my way!" Dod replies harshly. H'cirlu narrows his eyes and glares deep into Dod's eyes. "You better back off, Kitten-Boy, or I'll tear you into a million pieces!" H'cirlu threatens.

Imuy hears the argument and turns to see what is going on. "Oh, geez, there they go again…" she whispers gruffly and starts to walk over to them. Suddenly, a large rock smashes into her side. Aelita exhales deeply and smiles at her successful attack.

"Kitten-Boy! Watch who you're calling names, pal. And, at least I don't look like a reject from the Village People!" Dod retorts coldly. H'cirlu jabs a finger into Dod's chest. "You better shut that mouth of yours before it ends up killing you," H'cirlu states. Dod narrows his eyes and growls. "Get your finger off me, H'cirlu," he says and slaps H'cirlu's hand away. Anger flares up in H'cirlu's eyes and he grabs Dod by the collar with both hands. "Don't you ever touch me again, boy…" H'cirlu says. Yumi leans over to Ulrich and whispers to him, "Who're the Village People?" He shrugs and shakes his head. "I don't know. Sounds like some band from the seventies," Ulrich whispers back. "Get your grubby hands off me!" Dod says and grabs H'cirlu's arms. Suddenly, H'cirlu screams in pain and lets Dod go. Dod releases him, revealing that he extended his claws into H'cirlu's arms. H'cirlu clutches his arms and takes a couple of steps backwards. "How….how…dare you! I'll kill you!" he stammers and produces a second sword. He quickly shakes his arms to get the feeling back in them and glowers at Dod. Then, he super-sprints away and Dod snorts in anger. Dod closes his eyes and concentrates for a couple of seconds before reopening them. His eyes begin to glow again and he scans the area for H'cirlu.

Yumi blinks in amazement. "Whoa, the glowing eyes thing is different," she whispers. Suddenly, Ulrich and Yumi feel a grip on each of their shoulders and turns to see Atilea pull herself up to them. She drapes an arm around each of their shoulders to hold herself up and then leans her head toward Ulrich's head. "Hi, Ulrich!" she says sweetly, then leans her head toward Yumi. "Hi, Yumi!" she says, equally sweetly. "Mind if I hang here for a little while?" Ulrich turns and replies, "Whoa, Atilea, you don't look so good. Are you ok?" Atilea smiles and says, "Mostly. I could use a nap, though." "What happened?" Ulrich asks Yumi. "I used most of my energy to stop the tornado…." Atilea starts but gets cut off by Yumi. "She kept using her creativity, despite knowing that she could, um," Yumi says, then pauses. "Ah, I get it. Why didn't you have Jeremie get her back to the factory?" Ulrich asks. "She did, Ulrich, but Jeremie's having some trouble with the materialization program. We need to buy him more time," Atilea replies. "Where's my sister?" Ulrich glances over to a pile of rock and sees Aelita wave to them with a smile on her face. "Did… did she create

all those?" he asks as Yumi turns to see Aelita also. Atilea strains to see her sister and gets an amazed look on her face. "If she did, that'd be awesome! And I'm guessing Imuy is underneath all those rocks," Atilea says. "Hey, Ulrich, Yumi, I have an idea that could buy us some more time," Jeremie pipes up. "What is it, Jeremie?" Yumi asks.

Dod stares straight ahead and waits patiently for the right time to come. Then, he shuffles to the left and back fists, catching H'cirlu off guard as he sprints by. H'cirlu's feet and lower torso keeps going as his face and upper body gets stopped instantly by Dod's fist. "Not matter how fast you run, not matter where you phase in at, I can always see where you'll end up and adjust accordingly!" Dod exclaims proudly as H'cirlu crashes to the ground and skids across the ground. He hops up and faces Dod. "You're not following me as I run! You're using your premonition abilities to see into the future to find out where I'll be!" H'cirlu returns. Dod smiles proudly as H'cirlu gets an angry glare in his eyes. "But can you see two things happening at the same time?" he exclaims. He throws a shuriken at Dod at the same time he phases away. "I don't have to," Dod replies simply. "BARRIER!" Instantly, an energy dome forms around Dod and the shuriken and H'cirlu's attack collide with it. H'cirlu gets a look of surprise as he realizes his plan failed. "What are you going to do now? You can't attack me, but I can attack you!" Dod states and reaches his right arm over his left shoulder, pointing to where H'cirlu stands, then fires a six-round burst. H'cirlu sprints away just in time. "I didn't know he could fire through that thing!" he whispers to himself. Then, he pauses for a second. "I wonder…"

"Fine, we'll do it Jeremie. Just get Atilea home first," Ulrich says as he gently sets Atilea down on the ground. Yumi sneaks behind a rock, trying to make her way over to Aelita without being spotted by either of the two warring twins. Atilea adverts her eyes from Ulrich and blushes slightly. "Ulrich, you're not listening! I can't right now! Something is taking up too many resources from the computer!" Jeremie exclaims. "Can you fix it?" Ulrich asks. "As I said before, yes I can, but I need time! You three will have to take her with you until I get the mess over here straightened out!" Jeremie replies. Yumi returns with Aelita and glances at Ulrich and Atilea. "What did Jeremie say?" she asks him. "He needs more time. She'll have to go with us until he fixes the computer," Ulrich replies as Aelita and Atilea give each other a quick hug. "Glad you're ok, Sis," Atilea says smiling. "You too," Aelita replies, returning her smile. "Are we ready?" Yumi asks. "Yeah, I just hope we can sneak away without either of those two noticing we're gone. How well did you bury Imuy in those rocks?" Ulrich asks Aelita. She smiles and replies, "Pretty well. She'll get out, but it will take her a while." Ulrich nods and motions in the direction they should go. "Let's go. Stay low," he says and the four begins to covertly leave the area.

Several minutes later, Dod and H'cirlu lock arms, trying to subdue each other. "Give up, Dod, and save yourself the humiliation!" H'cirlu says. Dod shakes his head. "Not a chance! I will beat you! Once and for all!" he replies. "Your strength is beginning to wane. That special eyesight of yours is taking its toll on you!" H'cirlu states. "And yet, I still am able to match you! What does that tell you?" Dod answers confidently. "That you're gonna burn out real soon! Then, you'll be put back in your place—just under me!" H'cirlu claims.

A primal rage explodes inside Dod. His vision blurs and a sudden rush of energy fills his body. At the same time, Ulrich finishes destroying a pod in the Ice Sector. Yumi, with Atilea and Aelita, finishes destroying the pod in the desert sector. "Good job, guys. Now, move on to the last one in the Forest Sector," Jeremie praises. Atilea looks at the ground in silence and Aelita gives her a curious look. "What is it? Is that where your pod is?" she asks. Atilea shakes her head. "No. Mine was in the Mountain sector, and it's gone already. Dod destroyed it," Atilea replies. "I just can't shake the feeling that…something terrible is going to happen." Aelita gives her sister a comforting smile and hug. "Don't worry. By the time they realize what's happening, it'll be too late," Yumi says encouraging. "Let's go. Ulrich will be waiting for us in the Forest Sector," Aelita says and helps Yumi lift the still weakened Atilea off the ground.

Meanwhile, Dod begins to pry H'cirlu's arms away from his, much to H'cirlu's surprise. H'cirlu sees the glow in Dod's eyes turn red as Dod manages to free an arm. H'cirlu stares in shock as Dod extends his claws on that hand. Imuy manages to dig her way out of the rock pile and staggers around trying to get her bearings. Ulrich and Yumi hug and kiss each other in celebration of the destruction of the last pod. Atilea smiles as she is helped up by Aelita and Yumi. "Let's go back and surprise our twins with the news!" Ulrich suggests and Yumi and Aelita nods in agreement, but Atilea's smile fades as the feeling that something bad is going to happen grows.

H'cirlu strains against Dod's sudden increase in strength, as Imuy watches them in shock and awe. Her attempts to calm Dod failed, instead made him even angrier. Then, she hears several sets of footsteps behind her go from a run to a jog, then to a slow walk, finally to nothing. She turns to see Ulrich, Yumi, Aelita, and Atilea stand in awe of Dod's power. "What the…?" Ulrich starts but the rest of his words die in his throat.

_DOD! STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING! _bellows a voice from all around the group.

"SHUT UP!" returns an enraged Dod. Imuy gasps at his reaction to her Master's inquiry.

_NOO! YOU MUST STOP HIM BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!_

Imuy finds herself frozen in shock and unable to make her body move. Ulrich, a Yumi, Aelita, and Atilea just stare as Dod lets out a yell that shakes them to the core.

Dod then plunges his claws into H'cirlu's stomach, causing him to double over. Imuy's scream dies in her mouth as she sees H'cirlu's eyes almost instantly go blank. The rest, save Dod, gasp at this and Atilea feels terror grip her heart.

_No…. it is too late now… You should not have destroyed the pods, Humans…. All is lost…_

X.A.N.A.'s tone takes Ulrich by surprise, but doesn't have time to contemplate what he meant, as now, H'cirlu's body begins to dissipate into the same glowing energy balls as before. Dod's eyes flash greedily as he utters a single word through his gritted teeth.

"Absorption!"


	12. The Deal

_**Disclaimer-izer:** Don't owe it, yo…_

_Don't have much of a summary for this chapter. Just read. Though, I am sorry it took so long to update. I've started on the first chapter to the prequel to this story. Plus, there were other things to tend to, i.e. shooting youth group members with paintballs (grins deviously) and the like. Getting close to the end here!_

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part X: The Deal**

Imuy slumps to her knees, her eyes filled with tears and right arm outstretched toward the massive blue and gold dome of energy. She could not hear her own cries or the pleading of the humans around her. Her heart had forced her mind to shut down all her senses except sight. She had tried to run into the glowing dome after it enveloped Dod…or whatever he was. But, several sets of arms had wrapped themselves around her and pulled her away from the dome. She begged them to let her go, but they persisted and now she only had the strength to cry.

"H'CIRLU!" Imuy cries out after many tries. "N—NOO!"

Several lightening bolts strike the dome, and the loud crack from each one causes everyone, except Imuy, to cover their ears.

Atilea's heart sinks as she realizes that this is the end, as she holds back Imuy. Aelita trembles in terror, unable to do anything but cling to a nearby stone. Ulrich and Yumi hold fast to Imuy and stare in awe at the dome, unable to say a single word. Jeremie and Odd watch in horror as the events unfold on the monitor.

Imuy's body gives out and she slumps against the three people holding her. "H'cirlu….no…." she says through her sobs. "Don't leave me!" she pleads, then she buries her face in Atilea's neck and resumes crying.

Atilea can't help but shed a couple of tears herself, as feelings of fear, loneliness, and sadness floods her. Yumi and Ulrich let Imuy go and wrap their arms around each other, while still staring at the dome.

Then, several more lightening strikes hit the dome and a bright flash of light blazes from within the dome. Dust and dirt once again fills the air, making everyone cough and choke.

Then, there is silence. No wind, no loud buzz from the dome, no crackle of energy arcs crawling on its surface. Only the sound of Imuy sobbing against Atilea's neck.

Ulrich and Yumi stare through the falling dirt and debris, trying to see if anything remained of Dod. Then, a silhouette begins to take shape as the air begins to clear. Aelita crawls over to the rest of the group and leans against Yumi and Ulrich. Ulrich squints, trying to see through the dust, to see who or what this silhouette is. Then, the air clears enough and he and Yumi gasp at the sight. A being of some kind stands where Dod once stood. The being is humanoid, standing roughly Yumi's height. He wears a black and brown tunic decorated with pin-wheel shaped swirls and wears a pair of baggy dark brown pants with black boots. His hair is jet black with a dark purple spot on the front and has a matching purple head band. A brown, furry tail begins to flip around catlike on the ground before it raises up and wraps around his waist securely. Two purple wrist bands accent his arms, each with a single black pin wheel pattern on them. He stands perfectly still, only blinking once every few seconds.

Ulrich notices that his eyes are a gray colored and pupil-less, giving him a strange and partially disturbing blank gaze. Then, the being inhales and exhales slowly, then its eyes slowly wanders over the landscape. Finally, it looks down at itself and surveys it's clothing. It frowns and closes its eyes. Then, right before their very eyes, its clothes changes from the simple tunic and pants to a black fighting _gi_ with brown trim that has a single pin wheel pattern on the right side of the _gi_ top. He looks up and the headband colors swap places.

"Whoa. That was…new," Ulrich says in awe and Imuy lifts her head slightly to look at the creature. She blinks and sits up, trembling. The creature sighs slightly it satisfaction and resumes scanning the landscape.

"There are two strong entities nearby," it says finally in a voice that sounds as if two people were speaking the same thing at the same time. It pauses to study its discovery, then resumes. "They are of no consequence. Their power is not a threat to us," it says and turns its head.

"Us?" questions Yumi. Ulrich shrugs and replies, "I don't know. Maybe he's like a Borg." Atilea gives Ulrich a curious look. "What's a Borg?" "Get Odd to explain it to you sometime," Ulrich replies. She nods and turns back to see that the being has turned and is looking right at them.

"There are also three minor powers nearby. They are not a threat," it says and starts walking forward. Ulrich and Yumi freeze and hear Atilea gasp. Imuy blinks and suddenly blurts out, "H'cirlu! Can you hear me?"

The being stops instantly, getting a confused look on its face, as if it didn't know anyone was there. Then, it regains its composure and answers, "There is no H'cirlu. There is only us." "And Dod?" asks Atilea nervously. It pauses to assess the direction from where the question came from, then answers, "There is no Dod. There is only us." Ulrich swallows and asks, "And, um, who are you? Do you, uh, guys in there have a name?" Again, the being turns to the direction of the question. "We are designated as Thadeo," he replies simply.

"Think he's blind!" Aelita exclaims quietly to Ulrich and Yumi. They turn and look at her curiously. "Look at the way he's acting. Especially, when he started walking this way. It was as if he didn't see us here until Imuy said something," she continues. "Well, he seems to be able to walk just fine," states Yumi. "How can he walk perfectly if he can't see?" Aelita pauses in thought. "Well, it's not echo-location or he would have know we were here. Maybe he can sense energy. Or he only move based on where sound is coming from," she replies.

Then there is a rumbling sound coming from behind them. They all turn and look to see several Mega-tanks rolling towards them. Ulrich scoops up Imuy as Yumi and Aelita help Atilea to get out the way. "Geez, we do not need this!" he says gruffly as he dashes behind a rock. He turns and sees Thadeo still standing in the same spot but with a frown on his face. "What's he doing?" Ulrich whispers. Then he feels a pair of hands snake around his neck and a nose begin to nuzzle him. "Don't let me go, H'cirlu," comes a muffled statement from Imuy, as she squeezes him tighter. "Uh, I'm not H'cirlu. I'm Ulrich, Imuy," he replies and she pauses. Imuy lifts her head slightly to see him give her a worried look. "Oh. I'm sorry. I thought…" she starts. "It's ok. Just don't do it again," he replies and gently sets her down on the ground.

Ulrich stands and looks over at Thadeo. The Mega-tanks roll up and stop, as Ulrich begins to count them. "Whoa. Twenty-five. Man, X.A.N.A. did not want to take any chances with this guy!" he says finally. Thadeo assesses the sound that he heard and glances around. "Sound designation: Mega-tanks. Threat level: 2," he says analytically. Three of the Mega-tanks nearest him open up and begins to charge their energy pulse. Then, all three fire simultaneously, hitting Thadeo head on. Ulrich's jaw drops as he sees that the attack didn't even phase Thadeo. Instead, it causes Thadeo to get an angry scowl on his face. "Annoyance level: 10!" Thadeo adds and the tanks close themselves up. Suddenly, Thadeo raises his right hand toward the entire group of Mega-tanks. "Arrow beam!" he shouts and a long, red beam of energy in the shape of an arrow streaks from his palm. The beam hits the Mega-tanks, traveling through five of them, before dissipating. The five tanks explode and the rest backs away. Thadeo balls his extended hand into a fist and says, "Energy Katana!" and instantly a long red blade of energy extends from his fist.

The next thing that happens is a blur. Ulrich tries to follow but Thadeo's speed is too great. The next thing he realizes is Thadeo is crouching on the other side of the Mega-tanks. Then, the tanks begin to explode, one by one, until all are destroyed. "No way… That's…." Ulrich says, but the rest of his words escape him.

Imuy glances up at a very worried Ulrich and wonders if she'll ever see H'cirlu again. "Did you see that?" Yumi asks in awe. Ulrich turns and nods, unable to speak. Atilea braces herself against Aelita and adds, "I didn't see him move! Then, he destroyed them when they were closed! No one has ever gotten through their armor before!" Aelita nods and stares at Thadeo in shock and awe, also unable to speak.

"What now? If he can do that to twenty-five Mega-tanks, just imagine what he could do to us!" Yumi exclaims and begins to tremble. Ulrich steps close to her and wraps an arm around her. She stops trembling but remains scared and worried. "I don't know. There's nothing we can do to stop him," Ulrich says.

"We rule all!" shouts Thadeo, causing the group in hiding to peek out at him. "You are weak compared to us! You cannot stop us! We will destroy all who oppose us, even you!" he continues, talking to the sky. "He must be talking to X.A.N.A. There's no one else who could come close to challenging his power," Atilea states. "Well, yeah, he did kinda make that obvious with that little show of power just then," Yumi says.

"We can't let him destroy X.A.N.A.!" Aelita exclaims suddenly. Ulrich, Yumi, and Atilea turn to look at her curiously. "Why?" asks Ulrich. Aelita looks over at Atilea worrisomely. "Because my sister's still linked to him. Like I used to be. Granted, it's a bit different than the way I was, but the affect is the same. If X.A.N.A. dies, so does she!" Atilea's face pales at the revelation. "I don't want that to happen! I won't let that happen! I've already lost two family members, I don't want to lose another!" Aelita continues.

Atilea smiles and turns away from her sister. "Thank you, Aelita. That makes me feel so… happy to hear that, but we might not have much choice in the matter," she states. Aelita presses her lips together and gives her a hard, determined stare. "Don't you ever talk about dying. We will all survive this!" she says sternly. Atilea hangs her head slightly and replies, "Aelita, it's great that you can think you can do that, but as Jeremie has said, X.A.N.A.'s link is ingrained in my DNA. He may not be able to separate me from him. I know you're trying to be positive, but I'm just being realistic. Sorry."

Ulrich sighs and gently lays a hand on Aelita's shoulder. "She's right, Aelita. If we had the time, I'm sure that Jeremie could separate the two of them, but we don't have the luxury of time now. This Thadeo guy has become a worse threat than all the twins put together, um, no pun intended," he says. "Jeremie has a program that is designed to separate them," Aelita says simply. Ulrich raises his eyebrows slightly. "Yes, he does, but he told me that it is nowhere near being ready to run!" he replies.

"I hate to break up your little discussion, but he's coming over hear!" Imuy states, gently tapping Ulrich's foot to get his attention. They turn to see a scowling Thadeo walking towards them. "You that are hiding, come out now!" he commands. Ulrich presses his lips together and whispers, "I'll go. You stay here." Yumi inhales sharply and grips his arm. He smiles and gives her a reassuring kiss on the lips. "Be careful…" she whispers finally. Ulrich then steps cautiously around the boulder and stares nervously at Thadeo. "I am here," he says. Thadeo tilts his head, analyzing the response. "There are others. Where are they?" Thadeo replies blandly. Ulrich swallows and searches for an answer. "They are still behind the boulder. I am…uh, the spokesperson for the group," Ulrich replies finally. Thadeo regards his answer curiously then becomes disinterested. "So be it, Ulrich. We wish to tell you that you are to leave Lyoko immediately or join X.A.N.A. in death."

Ulrich's mouth drops open. "But, uh, there's a problem. You see, one of my friends is linked to…." he starts. "That is irrelevant. X.A.N.A. will die," interrupts Thadeo gruffly. "We do not care about friendship. We care about ruling all!" Ulrich stares in awe at his cold-heartedness. "But, we have the means to separate them! If you could give us some time before you destroy him…" Ulrich exclaims. Thadeo frowns in annoyance. "No. This is not negotiable. You will comply or you will be destroyed," states Thadeo coldly. "What about Imuy? Surely the half of you that is H'cirlu remembers her!" Ulrich says. Thadeo snorts gruffly and replies, "She is of no consequence. H'cirlu does not exist. Whatever he felt for her is gone. Feelings like that only hinder our work. This discussion is terminated. You have five minutes to leave or you will be exterminated." And with that, he leaps into the air and lands on a platform several feet away, then continues to leap effortlessly from platform to platform across the landscape. Ulrich steps back behind the boulder and Yumi falls on his neck, trembling. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die! We're all gonna die!" says Imuy. "No, we're not. Jeremie, can you get us back?" Ulrich asks.

"Not yet. I'm gonna have to take the scanners offline for a few minutes to fix it, but once they come back online, then I'll start bringing you home," Jeremie replies as Odd sits on the floor with his arms wrapped around his knees. "And I shouldn't have to tell you what that means." Ulrich sighs and nods. "Yeah, if we die, we die for good, I remember. Can you bring Imuy back too?" Jeremie glances at the screen and frowns. "Possibly, but it'll take longer," he replies. "Fine. Just do it, ok? I'm not leaving anyone behind," Ulrich says. Imuy glances up at him. "I don't want to go! That place caused Atilea to betray her master! I'm not going to be poisoned by your world!" she states. "Not even to save your own life?" asks Atilea. "I'd rather die next to my master than to end up a weakling like you," Imuy replies coldly and wipes the tear tracks from her cheeks. "You know, H'cirlu wouldn't let you throw your life away meaninglessly," Ulrich says, kneeling down to her. She turns and gives him a dubious look. "How do you know?" she snaps back. He smiles slightly and replies, "Because I wouldn't let Yumi do that. She means too much to me just to let her throw herself away for nothing." Imuy's look softens and she sighs.

_I need your help, _comes a voice. Imuy instantly gets a happy smile on her face. "Master!" she exclaims joyfully. Ulrich stands and lifts his head skyward. "You need our help, X.A.N.A.? That's hard to believe," he says.

_I know that you do find it difficult to grasp, but it is true. I cannot defeat this…Thadeo by myself. At least, now I cannot._

"Oh? Why is that?" Ulrich asks.

_Because you destroyed the pods I created for my children. If they were still intact, I could have separated them, but since you took it upon yourselves to destroy the pods without first considering the consequences, I cannot separate them now._

"Well, it's not all our fault. We didn't know Dod could absorb energy like that! If we did, I'm sure we would have done things a little different," Ulrich replies.

_Dod overstepped his function, much like my lovely, but traitorous daughter, Atilea. He was driven into a blind rage by you, Ulrich, if I am not mistaken! Granted, I did not expect him to be able to absorb the energy of his brother. Nor, did I expect this fusion of the two to be so…powerful. Again, I ask for your help._

"What makes you think we can do anything against him? We all saw what he did to those twenty-five Mega-tanks!" Yumi exclaims.

_You have been able to thwart every attack I have sent at you, save one. Your ingenuity and creativity has held you up to this point. I despite that I have an incredible amount of free will, I still lack the imagination that you have. Even my own children have that aspect about them. I am…a slave to logic, so to speak._

"I don't know about that. You've done some pretty creative things in the past," Ulrich states.

_Despite your observations, I still arrived at my solutions from a logical point of view. Even coming to you for help was the last logical step I can take._

Ulrich sighs and crosses his arms. He glances at Yumi and she shrugs. Aelita tries to keep a neutral expression on her face, but her eyes says that she dislikes the idea of helping X.A.N.A. Atilea Shakes her head, not wanting any part of the decision making process. Imuy watches Ulrich intently, trying to read is expressions to get an idea how he will respond. Finally, Ulrich makes up his mind.

"Fine. We'll help, but only under one condition," he states. There is a brief pause before a reply comes.

_Condition? Very well, human, state your condition._

"We will only help you if you remove the link that you have with Atilea," Ulrich says firmly. Atilea gasps and gets wide-eyed, unsure if she should be happy or shocked. Instead, she bites her lower lip to keep her cool and not let herself get too anxious, in case X.A.N.A. turns down the condition. "And I mean, for good, giving her the ability to be just like Aelita—her own person," Ulrich continues.

_You want me to turn over one of my children in turn for your help?_

"That's the deal, X.A.N.A. No compromise. Take it or leave it," Ulrich states.

_What makes you think I will not just decline your condition? She would die if I were to be destroyed! A fitting end to a traitor!_

"Well, I'm counting on your wonderful sense of survival to make the decision for you. You release Atilea to us, we help you defeat Thadeo. You turn down our request, then you die. Simple and logical," Ulrich says. There is a pause before X.A.N.A gives his reply.

_What guarantee do I have that once I release Atilea that you will not simply leave Lyoko to let me battle Thadeo alone with Imuy?_

"Well that's easy. We can't run the risk of him getting out of Lyoko. We have to stop him here. This is also the one place where questions will not be asked about things like, why are there suddenly twins of everybody, and how is it possible for an Odd look-a-like to fuse with an Ulrich look-a-like. Our lives become much more simple if we stop Thadeo. Besides, he also wants to rule everything. We can't let that happen," Ulrich replies. X.A.N.A pauses again, considering Ulrich's words.

_Very well. You seem to have left me no choice in the matter. I will release Atilea. Atilea, once I release you, there is no coming back, do you understand? You will remain separated from me and my presence forever, until you die a death that is human. I cannot feed you power anymore nor can I raise you up to your intended maximum power level._

"I understand. I'm ready to be human. Completely," Atilea replies confidently and smiles at Aelita. "I'm ready to be the sister she never had and to have her as the sister I never had! Um, no offense Imuy. You were a sister, true, but nothing like what Aelita is to me." Imuy stares blankly at her and then snorts, turning her head away from the group.

_Very well, prepare yourself then._

Atilea nods and hobbles to the boulder, bracing herself against it. Then, a soft red glow forms around her and the symbol of X.A.N.A. glows on her chest. She winces slightly as the symbol begins to break apart and dissipate. Then, when the last of the symbol has disappeared, Atilea suddenly tenses up and lifts her head to the sky and a maroon colored vapor begins pouring out her open mouth, nose, and eyes. Finally, the vapor and red glow disappears, and she collapses to the ground. Aelita instantly kneels down next to her, turning her over onto her back. "Atilea?" she asks nervously. Atilea's eye flit open slightly and a smile of joy slowly forms on her lips. "I'm….free!" Atilea whispers happily and feels Aelita give her a gentle hug.

Ulrich sighs with relief and gives Yumi a gentle hug. She smiles at Atilea and watches as she sits up to give Aelita a bigger hug and the two sisters laugh with joy. "How is she, Jeremie?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie snaps out of his daze and runs a quick scan. "Fine, and she's back at full power too! I would have never have thought X.A.N.A. would actually go through with it," he says in mild shock. "Thanks, Jeremie. Now, can you give me the stats on Thadeo?" Ulrich asks, leaving Yumi's side and peeking around the boulder.

Jeremie frowns and shakes his head. "Yeah, but you're not going to like it," he replies. Ulrich carefully walks out into the open and glances around for any sign of Thadeo. "Yeah, well, there's been a lot of things that has happened that I don't particularly like. Except anything that has happened with Atilea. She's actually the one good thing that has came out of this whole situation," Ulrich says and walks over to the crater left behind from where Dod and H'cirlu fused. He kneels down and examines the ground, shaking his head. "Well, personally, I don't like this 'deal with the Devil to defeat a Demon' thing you've got going, Ulrich!" pipes up Odd. Ulrich sighs and stands. "Sorry, but it's a necessary thing to do. How's our five minute time limit?" "You have roughly two minutes left. Do you want me to bring anyone home?" Jeremie replies.

Atilea stands a looks at Yumi, her smile disappearing. "Um, Sis? Could you take Imuy and go elsewhere, please? I'd like to talk to Yumi alone for a minute," she asks and Yumi eyes her nervously. Aelita glances between them curiously and nods. "Sure, but don't be too long. Our five minute time limit will be over pretty quick. Let's go, Imuy," Aelita replies. Imuy nods and allows Aelita to lead her away. Atilea sighs nervously and steps towards Yumi. "I have a confession, Yumi. Now's a good time as any to tell you what happened before Ulrich and I arrived here on Lyoko," she starts and Yumi nods slightly.

"Jeremie, the stats on Thadeo?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie sighs and brings up the information of the monitor. "Well, Dod and H'cirlu both had four hundred life points before they fused," he starts. "Let me guess, the fused version has eight hundred?" Ulrich asks. "No. Apparently, when two people fuse on Lyoko, the resulting persona gains an extra two hundred life points!" Jeremie states. Ulrich inhales sharply and blinks in shock. "Oh, boy. You're telling me that Thadeo has one thousand life points! That's crazy!" he exclaims as Aelita and Imuy near him. "Yes, unfortunately. And I don't think even the combined forces of the five of you, with X.A.N.A.'s help, could stand a chance. Those three Mega-tanks that attacked him did nothing to him! Well, I say nothing. It might as well have been nothing. They each took one life point from him," Jeremie notes. "Oh, well, there ya go! That'll work! We'll just whittle him down one life point at a time! No problem!" Odd exclaims sarcastically. Jeremie glances at him and frowns. "I hope you have a plan, Ulrich, because I have nothing, and I agree with Odd. This deal you made with X.A.N.A…" he starts.

"Was a necessary thing. I don't like it either, but it's too late to change things now," Ulrich interjects. Meanwhile, Yumi looks at Atilea in shock after hearing her confess about kissing Ulrich. "I'm so sorry, Yumi. It was very wrong, bad, whatever else, for me to have done that! I don't have any excuse to try and make it alright. I shouldn't have kissed him, especially after Aelita told me about being alone…" Atilea says, trailing off. "Why?" Yumi asks slowly. "Why did you do it?" Atilea hangs her head and replies, "I…I…" She struggles to get the words out, but they simply refuse to come out. "You've fallen in love with him, haven't you?" Yumi asks. "Yumi! Atilea! Get over here! We're leaving!" Ulrich bellows, startling the girls. Yumi leans around the boulder and shouts back at him, "Just a minute!" Ulrich frowns, wondering what they could be talking about. "We don't have a minute! We have forty-five seconds before Thadeo comes back to finish us off!" Yumi grows wide-eyed. "Oh, geez. Wonderful," she whispers to herself and turns back to Atilea. She gazes at her and sees that she is truly sorry for what she did, but can also tell she still has feelings for him. "Look, Atilea, I can see that you're truly sorry you kissed him, and I forgive you, but promise me that it won't happen again," Yumi says firmly. Atilea looks up at her and nods frantically. "Yes! Yes! I'll never do that again! Just keep me honest, ok?" Yumi nods and places a hand gently on her shoulder. "Sure, even though that is mainly your sister's job!" Atilea blinks and tilts her head in thought. "Yeah, maybe so, but I need all the help I can get!" Yumi smiles and pats her shoulder. "We're still friends, right?" Atilea asks nervously. Yumi nods and replies, "Of course. If you were any other girl, I would have pummeled you by now! But, since you're Aelita's sister and have helped us so many times, things are different. Let's just say I trust you more than Sissi." Atilea sighs in relief and smiles slightly. "Thank you, Yumi. We'd better go. I don't want to be caught by Thadeo!" Yumi nods and the two girls jog towards Ulrich.

_I held up my end of the bargain, Human! Do not forget to hold up yours!_

Ulrich frowns and replies, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. Now, it is pretty much obvious that our weapons are going to be useless against him, except for maybe Imuy's weapons. Do you remember some time ago when you created a ghost clone of Franz Hopper and almost tricked us into turning Aelita to the Scyphozoa?"

_Of course I remember. My memory is not fallible like yours. What about it?_

"Can you enhance our weapons to be more effective against Thadeo?" Ulrich asks.

_I can, but not as powerful as Imuy's weapons. Lay them on the ground in front of you._

Ulrich hesitates and lays the sword his collected from H'cirlu on the ground, then nods to Yumi. Atilea creates a staff for her sister and hands it to her. Aelita eyes it hesitantly, then takes it. Yumi and Aelita then follow Ulrich's lead. Then, the weapons begin to glow red and lift into the air. Several small sparks of energy flit across the weapons, then the glow disappears but they remain in the air.

_It is done. Take your weapons. The human called Yumi, your weapon has the same capabilities as Imuy's. The human Ulrich, your weapon has the ability to release a slicing energy wave and also is able to deliver a powerful energy shock on impact. I could not change it to the katana shape you are familiar with so you will have to make due with that form. Aelita, your staff has become ten times stronger than it originally was. It can also deliver a blunt energy wave and shock on contact. Atilea? No weapon enhancements for you?_

Atilea frowns and creates escrima sticks in her hands. "No thanks. I want to do this on my own," she replies with a bit of coldness in her voice.Ulrich, Yumi, and Aelita pluck their weapons out of the air and examine them. Imuy frowns at Atilea as she twirls the escrima sticks. "Ok, so what's the plan?" Imuy asks, crossing her arms. "Well, it's been a lot longer than forty-five seconds. Thadeo should have been here by now," Ulrich states glancing around. "I don't think he's coming back. Right now, he's at the edge of the….uh, oh!" Jeremie says. "What? What is it?" Yumi asks. "I think he's trying to get to Sector 5, but he hasn't figured out how to activate the transporter. Strange. Why doesn't he know?" Jeremie replies. "Anyways, you need to get over there quickly before he does! I don't think I have to tell you what might happen if he gets there."

Yumi, Ulrich, and Aelita frown. "Yeah, he can get into the Inner Core and destroy everything!" Ulrich states. Atilea gives him a curious look. "Inner Core? What's that?" she asks. Yumi looks at her slightly amazed. "You don't know?" Atilea and Imuy shake their heads.

_I did not give that information to them when I birthed them. Just know that it is the 'heart' of Lyoko and myself._

Imuy nods slowly. "Ok, then the plan is to keep him out of Sector 5 and if he manages to get there, prevent him from getting to the Inner Core," she states. "Sounds good to me," Ulrich says. "Yeah, but how are we going to do that? Just run up on him and attack?" Imuy asks him. Ulrich thinks for a moment then replies, "Well, yeah, maybe. We need to distract him any way we can. That seems to be the simplest answer. Jeremie, got any ideas?"

"No, not really. But BE CAREFUL. The scanner's are still offline, but don't worry. I've almost repaired the materialization program. I will try to slow the transporter up to give you more time to stop him," Jeremie replies. "Is that even possible?" Yumi mutters. Ulrich turns to her and gives her a gentle and reassuring hug. "Of course. Remember, despite how many life points he has, he still has to obey the laws governing them, just like everyone else. Thadeo was created from Dod and H'cirlu. Both of them could be beaten and so can Thadeo," he says to her. She smiles and hugs him back. "Thanks," she whispers to him.

Ulrich then turns to the rest of the group. "Ok. Let's go." They nod and Jeremie remotely drives the vehicles to them.


	13. A Daughter's Love

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Code: Lyoko…you get the idea…_

_No summary, sorry, but I will say that there's gonna be only two more chapters! _

**Code: Lyoko**

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part XI: A Daughter's Love**

Thadeo's blank eyes narrow as he senses another attack. They were all fools to not heed his warning to leave, but now, they will suffer the same fate as the Former Master. Pests. That is all they are.

Or so he once thought. Thadeo's mind races to try and understand how these weak entities could have lasted so long against him. The one they call 'Imuy' is the strongest, but she has not attacked as intensely as her weaker twin, 'Yumi', they call her. And this 'Atilea', the most annoying of all. But there is something different about her energy. No matter, they will all perish. But, who is this 'Jeremie' they keep talking to and where is he? Bah. This 'Ulrich' entity is fast, but not nearly fast enough. If that be true, then why is it so hard to defeat him? And what is it about the one they call 'Aelita' that causes hesitation? She is nothing special. In fact, she is the weakest of them all. The Former Master is behind it all. He will pay.

Ulrich sprints up next to a panting Yumi and grunts in frustration. She turns to him and frowns. "I don't think we're doing that much damage to him," Yumi states as Atilea lobs another created boulder at Thadeo. He swats it away over the side of the cliff and growls in anger before he charges her, but before he can tackle her, Aelita uses her staff to trip him up. "And I can't keep up running at full speed for very much longer," Ulrich says. "I hope Jeremie gets the materialization program fixed soon so he can bring the scanners back online."

"Well, we'd probably have a better chance at stalling Thadeo if Imuy would get her head out of her rear," Yumi says glancing over to her twin who has stopped in mid-attack once again. "She still thinks H'cirlu is still in there somewhere," Ulrich says and watches her get knocked away by Thadeo. "She's holding back way too much," he says. Yumi frowns and replies, "What she needs to do is get her head in the game! H'cirlu's gone and that's it! Get over it!" Ulrich frowns slightly at his girlfriend and says, "Well, think about it this way, Yumi. How would you react if something like that happened to me?" Yumi pauses and lets the thought run through her mind. "All she's doing is acting like you would, or so I believe. I could be wrong," Ulrich continues and Yumi hangs her head slightly. "Well, ok, if you put it that way…" she says. "But it wasn't you and it better not ever be you!" Ulrich smiles at Yumi and chuckles.

Odd watches Jeremie pull a strip of electrical tape from the roll and bite it off. "Stupid rats…" Jeremie mutters as he splices two chewed through wires back together. "Why can't they ever chew through something like wood?" he mumbles angrily. "Um, anything I can do, Jeremie?" Odd asks and Jeremie stands after reconnecting the wires to the computer terminal. "Yeah, I'm gonna need you to read off some numbers for me here in a minute," Jeremie replies and drops the tape back into the toolbox, then gets his laptop and hooks it up to the terminal. He types several commands and motions for Odd to come over to him. "I'm going back to the main terminal upstairs. I'll need you to read off this series of numbers then I'll have you type in a series I read off to you, ok?" Odd nods and sits down on the floor in front of the laptop as Jeremie enters the elevator.

Imuy stands and sees Yumi and Ulrich charge Thadeo. She frowns as she sees Thadeo dodge Ulrich's attack, but fail to detect Yumi's fan attacks.

_Why do you hesitate, my daughter?_

"I—I don't know. I… am finding it hard to fight him, that's all," she lies, but tries to cover it up.

_You do realize that I know your every thought? So, do not lie to me, my beloved. Your thoughts dwell on H'cirlu._

Imuy hangs her head and nods. "Yes, Master. I can't help but think he's still in there somewhere. I… don't want to hurt him…" she replies and looks up in time to see Atilea catch Yumi with a pillow of air before she crashes to the ground.

_I know how you felt about him. I do not condemn those feelings, but you have to understand. H'cirlu is gone, my child. There is no bringing him back. I am sorry. You have a new task at hand. Thadeo is neither Dod nor H'cirlu, but an entity all to his own. Which, strangely enough, is not connected to me. Nevertheless, he threatens me and your home. You know that you have to stop him at all costs._

Imuy nods and opens her fans. "I will, Master, for you," she states loyally, then runs to join the fray. Yumi steadies herself against Atilea as Ulrich leaps onto Thadeo's back, putting him in a choke hold. Thadeo tries to reach back to grab him, but Ulrich tightens his grip. "Yumi! Atilea! Hit him now!" Ulrich exclaims as Thadeo continues to try to grab hold of him. Yumi and Atilea charge as Aelita stands after being shoved aside. She looks at Thadeo curiously and wonders aloud to herself, "He just shoved me hard enough to make me fall, but not enough to hurt me. Strange, why did he do that?"

Suddenly, Thadeo manages to grab Ulrich's leg and pulls him off his back. Then, he slings Ulrich like a rag doll into the air. Atilea gasps as she sees Ulrich heading towards the edge of the cliff. She rushes towards him and concentrates, trying to create a platform of some kind beneath him. Yumi gets distracted by Atilea's sudden change in direction and gets blindsided by Thadeo's arm. Finally, Atilea manages to create a platform and Ulrich crashes down on it. She hops over to the platform and runs to his side. Ulrich groans as she gently rolls him onto his back. Then, her feelings towards him rise up inside her and she turns to grit her teeth at Thadeo.

"Energy Fans!" Imuy yells and tosses both her fans at Thadeo. He turns in surprise and freezes. The two real and four energy fans collide with him head on, sending him toppling over backwards. Yumi stands shakily and sees Thadeo lift his head up, then sees Imuy slam a fist into his face. "Whoa…" Yumi lets out quietly. Then, there is a growl and Thadeo kicks Imuy off him. He pounces on top of her and raises a fist to punch her, then out of nowhere, Atilea's foot connects with his head, sending him tumbling across the ground. Imuy looks up at her in shock as Atilea snarls angrily at Thadeo. "Don't you ever hurt my friends!" Atilea bellows as Thadeo stands. He gazes in her direction with his blank eyes and grimaces. "Foolish girl. You all should have left when we gave you the chance to. Now, you will all…gmph!" His sentence gets cut off by the sudden formation of rock around his body. Yumi raises her eyebrows at Atilea's move. "That won't hold him for long," Atilea says as Ulrich jogs over to the group. Imuy stands and stares at the massive rock formation that now stands where Thadeo stood. "I've noticed something about him, but I don't know if anyone else has, so I'm just gonna tell you anyways in case you haven't noticed," Atilea continues quickly. "Yeah? What is it?" Yumi asks her. "He seems to lose a lot of strength when he uses one of his special abilities. Like, after he tossed Ulrich, he seemed…weaker for short time. I think he has to let his body recharge of sorts," Atilea replies. "So that's why he's been bouncing between extreme attack and extreme defense a lot. I was wondering why he did that," Ulrich says. "I guess what we need to do is get him to use his abilities and hit him when he's in the weakened state. Great job, Atilea! Glad you noticed that!" he continues, smiling at her. She returns the smile and blushes slightly. "And while we are in the idea sharing mood, I've got one. Atilea, do you think you could repair that Demon Wind Shuriken?" Ulrich asks. Atilea grows wide-eyed. "Um, I don't… know. Why?" she replies cautiously.

Yumi catches onto where Ulrich is going. "No! That thing is dangerous! You don't even know if you can control it!" she protests. Ulrich looks at her caringly. "I know, Sweetie, but that's a risk I'll have to take. And, we may not have much choice," he replies. She frowns and relents. "I know. But I just….don't want to lose you…."

Ulrich smiles warmly and gently places a hand on her cheek. " I'll be careful. Promise," he says softly. She looks at him worriedly and lovingly. "A-hem!" coughs Imuy and the couple blush, then turns to the rest of the group. "When he breaks out of there, he's not going to be very happy. I'll….distract him long enough for you and Atilea to find that demon shuriken. I, too, have noticed something about Thadeo. He hasn't really hurt me. Only just gently pushed me away, almost as if he is afraid that he will hurt me," Aelita states. Atilea turns to her quickly and starts to object, but a sharp glare from her sister stops her. Then, Aelita's look softens and she gently pats her sister's shoulder reassuringly. "But, you don't truly know if he's really like that. He could just think you're… just… not…." Atilea starts but Aelita gently touches Atilea's lips with her finger to shush her. "I know. It's a risk, but I have to try. If I fail, Imuy, Yumi, and I will just have to stall him the old fashioned way!" Aelita replies. Yumi grunts and states, "The 'old fashioned way' isn't working very well!" Aelita smiles and nods. "True, but before, we have been trying to take him down. Now, all we'd be doing is distracting him. He seems to only be able to track one of us at a time. That, I have noticed too," she says. "Yeah, and he could just be toying with us," says Yumi. "That could be true too. But, at least we have a plan," Aelita says. Yumi pauses then slowly nods. "Fine. Let's give it a shot."

Ulrich and Atilea nod, then takes off across the landscape as Aelita nervously gets between Yumi and Imuy and the rock formation around Thadeo. Yumi glances back at Atilea and Ulrich as they run off into the distance. "Hurry back, Babe," she whispers. Imuy glances over at her, then thoughts of H'cirlu begin to run through her mind and a sudden sadness grips her. "H'cirlu…. I miss you…." she says and Yumi turns to look at her, slightly amazed. "You… cared for him, didn't you?" Yumi asks hesitantly. Imuy snaps back to reality and replies, "Yeah, I did. I never thought…." Her sentence trails off and she turns her face away from Yumi. Yumi regards her sadly and says, "I understand. I almost lost Ulrich once before." Imuy sniffs and replies, "I know. I have your memories, remember? But, he never really was gone, not like H'cirlu is." Yumi frowns as she realizes she is right.

Atilea and Ulrich dash across the stony pathway and reach a crossroads. The two stop and Ulrich tries to remember which way they came from. "Um, do you…" he starts. "No, I don't," Atilea finishes without missing a beat. "We could…" Ulrich starts again. "Flip a coin? We don't have one," she finishes again. The two pause and turn to look at each other in slight amazement. "Did you realize we are…" he starts. She nods and finishes, "Finishing each other's sentences? Yeah, I did." The two pause for a second more. "It's kinda weird, cute…" Atilea starts. "And funny? Sorta," Ulrich finishes, then realizes they just did it again. "You didn't do anything to me when you…" he starts. Her eyes widen and she finishes, "When I kissed you? No, I didn't! It was a just a kiss! I…" Atilea stops herself as a wave of sudden awkwardness hits her. She turns her face away from his and says, "Maybe Yumi or Imuy should have came with us. I really shouldn't be with you alone…again…"

Ulrich stares at her blankly for a minute before responding. "Look, let's just find the shuriken and put it back together. We'll deal with that issue later. We don't really have time to mess with it right now. So, which way? Left or right? Pick one." Atilea turns and looks at him, feeling slightly reprimanded, then nods. "Ok, sorry about getting off on that subject. Let's flip a coin." Ulrich scrunches his brow in confusion. "A coin? Like you said, we don't have coins here on Lyoko," he replies. She smiles slightly and extends her hand. He glances down at it and sees a coin-like object form in her palm. "Now we do!" Atilea says and chuckles softly. Ulrich nods and smiles as he takes the coin from her. "I should have known you'd do that. Ok, heads, we go left," he says and flips the coin into the air.

Odd exits the elevator and sees Jeremie staring frustrated at the computer screen. "The numbers are right! I just don't understand why it's not working!" he says, borderline angry. "Could it be X.A.N.A.? Or that Thadeo guy?" Odd suggests. Jeremie glances at him and shakes his head. "No, it's neither of them. I checked. There's just something else, something I've overlooked, but I've checked and re-checked, then checked again but everything is in order!" Odd thinks for a moment then asks, "Have you kicked it?" Jeremie turns instantly to him and gives him an appalled look. "Of course not! Why would I do that?" he exclaims. "It always works for me. Every time one of the computers in the computer lab screws up on me, I just give it a good thump and it starts working again," Odd replies, shrugging. Jeremie's appalled look deepens and his eyes widen. "You might try it and see if it helps," Odd continues. Jeremie slowly shakes his head no. "Look, you've tried everything else, Einstein, why not try something completely different?" Odd suggests and Jeremie slowly turns his head back to the screen. "Odd, promise me you'll never grow up to be a computer technician." Odd smiles and replies, " Heh, no problem! I plan on being either a rock star or a famous film director! Or better yet, both!"

Ulrich and Atilea finally reach the area where the shuriken was destroyed. Ulrich looks down at the scattered pieces on the ground and gives them a curious look. Atilea notices his reaction and asks, "What? Is something wrong?" He shakes his head slightly and replies, "Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but there looks to be more pieces here than what made up the shuriken before." Atilea realizes what he is talking about and says, "Oh, uh, well, yes. You see, when H'cirlu was split, he pulled out two of those demon shuriken. Yumi and I didn't really have time to figure out which one was the real shuriken, so we hit them both at the same time. I never thought we'd ever want to put the thing back together again, so neither of us bothered to figure out which was real or fake. Sorry, Ulrich." Ulrich frowns at the pieces. "Great. What happens if we get the wrong one together or pieces of one mixed in with the other?" he asks. Atilea ponders the dilemma for a moment, then replies, "Well, then, we put both of them together. The breaks in them can't be exactly the same. Like if you take two exact same pencils and snap them in half, the breaks in them will be different. We just have to match the two halves of each break and soon we'll have the both shuriken back together. Since we don't know which one is the real demon shuriken, we can attack Thadeo like H'cirlu attacked Yumi and me. Throw both at him at the same time."

Ulrich mulls over her idea in his head, then looks over at her with a smile on his face. "That's a good idea, Atilea! Why didn't I think of that? Good job!" he praises and pats her shoulder. She smiles and giggles as her face reddens. "Ok, which pile do you want?" he asks and Atilea glances at the ground. "Um, I only see one pile," Atilea states and raises an eyebrow. Ulrich kneels down and runs his hand straight down through the middle of the scattered pieces and rakes the right half into a pile. "Wrong! There are two piles!" he says, smiling mischievously up at her. She rolls her eyes and kneels down next to him, bumping him in the shoulder intentionally, almost knocking him over. "Big goof-ball. You did that on purpose!" she says and leans her head a little closer to his. "If I had a pillow, I'd smack you with it!" she playfully threatens. He turns and chuckles confidently at her. "Oh, really? Remember what happened to you the last time you did that? As I recall, you ended up on your back in the floor with my foot on your stomach!" Ulrich replies. Atilea gives him a playful snooty look and sticks her tongue out at him. "I remember! I just let you do that to me! If I had wanted to, I could have had you on the floor with my foot on your belly!" she retorts. Ulrich snorts playfully in disbelief and replies, "Yeah, whatever. You and your sister were giggling way too much to do anything!" Atilea bites her lower lip and her left eyebrow flicks upward. "Oh? Maybe we should have a rematch!" she says challengingly. A confident smile slowly forms on his lips and he nods. "Ok, if you don't mind losing again!" Ulrich says and Atilea leans back as a defiant smile forms on her face. "Ha, ha! You just got yourself into a pillow fight that you can't win!" she states boldly and Ulrich smiles coolly at her. "Like Odd said, I'm the champ!" he replies. Atilea presses her lips together and responds, "Yeah, well, champs can and do get dethroned! I'll just get Yumi to give me pointers on beating you!" Ulrich tries not to burst out laughing. "Oh, believe me, you do NOT want to get pillow fight pointers from Yumi! She has never beaten me, ever! If fact, she's the worst pillow-fighter I've ever seen! You're better off getting tips from Kiwi!" Atilea pauses for a second before saying anything else. "Yeah, well, we'll just see about that, mister!" Ulrich chuckles and points to the remaining pieces in front of Atilea. "Yeah, sure. We need to focus on the job at hand. That's your pile and this is mine. Start putting pieces together," he says and turns to his pile. Atilea nods and begins sifting through her pile, trying to find a matching pair.

Thadeo grits his teeth as he stares in the direction of the one called Aelita. She stands before him, trying not to shake too much with nervousness and fear. Thadeo's fist is raised to strike, but for some reason, he can't bring himself to hit her. Imuy stares at her amazed and says, "I have to admit, she's got guts." Yumi nods and watches Thadeo carefully. "What's got me curious is why he is having trouble fighting her. It's as if he doesn't want to fight her!" Yumi notes. Aelita looks at Thadeo and he takes a step backwards. "Please… remove yourself from our path! We…do not wish to injure you," Thadeo says to her. Then, a confused look crosses his face. "What is wrong? We are… we are… malfunctioning! Why are we unable to attack her? Have you done something to us!" he exclaims. Aelita shakes her head. "No! I haven't done anything! But I won't move. I won't let you hurt them. I'm sorry," she replies. Thadeo drops his fist and begins to take labored breaths, then clutches his head and lets out a strained grunt of pain. "Aaak! Must… control…. Losing….. cohesion! Instability! Must….avoid… confrontation… with her…" Thadeo strains to get out. He backs away from Aelita and turns around. Aelita just stands watching him, not knowing what to do.

Ulrich takes a piece of shuriken from Atilea and fits it on his mostly completed shuriken. Atilea places the final piece of the third blade on hers and smiles. After a few more minutes, Atilea completes her shuriken. She stands and smiles down at it. "Whew! That was fun!" she states and puts her hands on her hips. Then her smile turns into a bothered frown. "Not really. If I ever have to do that again before I die, it'll be too soon," she says and Ulrich glances up at her. "Tell me about it. You could help me here," he says as he tries to figure out where a piece fits. She looks at him and smiles deviously. "Nah, that's ok," Atilea replies. Ulrich pauses and she tries to hold back a giggle. "Atilea…" Ulrich says warningly. "Ok, ok, ok. Fine. I was just messing with you!" she states and kneels back down next to him. Soon, the two complete the second shuriken and they stand. Atilea rests a hand on his shoulder and sighs as she gazes down at the pair of shuriken. "Well, that was the easy part," she notes out loud. Ulrich raises an eyebrow. "How so? That was really tedious work!" he exclaims. Atilea looks at him and replies, "True, but now, I've got to figure out how to seal these things together. Also, there's the matter of empowering the real Demon Wind Shuriken when they are sealed. It won't do us any good if we try and endue the fake one with power." Ulrich stares blankly at the shuriken and blinks a few times, then turns to her and says, "Well, have fun!" Atilea steps back from him and shakes her head. "You're going to have to help in this. See, you're gonna have to be the one to try and pour power into those after I seal them up! So, don't think you're done with this!" Ulrich sighs and nods. "Alright, let's finish this and get back to the others," he says and Atilea kneels down in front of the left shuriken.

Aelita tries to make Thadeo look in her direction, but he does everything to prevent from doing just that. She frowns as he clinches his eyes shut and covers his face with his hands. "Leave us alone, Aelita!" he bellows at her through his hands. "Why won't you look at me, Thadeo? Is something wrong with me?" Aelita asks him, trying to sound as if her feelings are hurt. Imuy frowns and fidgets with one of her fans. Yumi glances between Thadeo and the mountain path, hoping to see her boyfriend returning. "Why do the other two remain silent? Why do they not help you or attack us?" Thadeo asks, almost exasperated. Aelita glances back at the other two girls and Yumi shrugs. "Um, they are, uh, afraid to…. Honestly, I have no idea why," Aelita replies and Thadeo groans in frustration. "Do not make us hurt you," he says and turns his back to Aelita. "Why would you hurt me?" Aelita asks. Thadeo pauses before answering. "Because that is what we were designed for," comes the reply. "Why don't you want to hurt me? What is it about me that makes you only gently shove me aside instead of trying to destroy me?" Aelita asks, taking a cautious step towards him. Yumi sees her take the step and widens her eyes nervously. Thadeo pauses again. "We… are unsure of the reasoning for this behavior in us, but it is hindering our work!" he answers. "Well, I want you to know that you are hurting me, even though it isn't direct," Aelita states, trying to buy more time as she notes that Ulrich and Atilea haven't returned yet. Thadeo lifts his head and turns to look in her direction.

"What? How? How have we hurt you?"

"Every time you have attacked or threatened my friends. I hurt because they are hurting. I care for them. Do you understand?"

"They attacked us first! We gave ample time for them to leave Lyoko, but instead they attacked. They must be eliminated!"

"If you do that, you'll be hurting me."

"No, we—must eliminate all who oppose us!"

"Would you really go that far and hurt me that bad?"

"We do not want you to hurt. Please, let us destroy the former master. Then, you will not hurt anymore."

"I'm already hurt, Thadeo. You've already hurt Yumi, Ulrich, Atilea, and Imuy, therefore you have already hurt me and failed to not hurt me."

"No! We do not want you to hurt! What can we do to stop you from hurting?"

Aelita is taken aback by this response. "Um, ah…" she stammers unable to get a coherent sentence to come out. Thadeo turns to her and steps towards her, causing Yumi to grit her teeth nervously. Imuy narrows her eyes and quietly opens a fan in case Thadeo attacks. Aelita freezes as he walks up to her. She stares nervously into his gray, blank eyes, unable to tell what his intentions are. Then, suddenly, Thadeo scoops up Aelita in his arms and she squeals in surprise. Yumi and Imuy instantly open their fans and Thadeo turns to look in their direction, finally hearing where they are. "There you are. Please, do not follow us or you will force us to do something we do not want to do," he says and leaps into the air. "AELITA!" Yumi yells and hears a frighten scream from Aelita before they land quite a ways away. Then, Thadeo continues to bound way. Yumi and Imuy take off after him but quickly loose sight of them. "Jeremie! Can you track him?" Yumi asks.

Jeremie snaps back to reality at the sound of Yumi's voice. "I, uh, hold on," he stutters and begins to type on the keyboard. Odd looks at him and sees a worried look form on his face. "Whoa," Jeremie says finally. "What? Where are they?" Yumi asks. "He's in the Glacier Sector. Wow, how did he get there so quickly? And without using a passage tower?" Jeremie states in awe. "What! How!" Yumi exclaims. "I—I don't know! One second he was in the mountain sector then the next, he was in the glacier sector! It was as if he just stepped between rooms!" Jeremie replies. "What do we do?" asks Yumi frantically. "We go after them!" states Imuy and frowns. "No! You can't! He could hurt her or worse…." Jeremie interjects quickly. "You need to wait for Ulrich and Atilea to get back before you even think of attempting a rescue!"

Imuy frowns and crosses her arms. "I got a better idea. Let me go alone to survey what he is going to do to her. Yumi, you stay here and wait for Ulrich and Atilea," she says. "Imuy…" starts Yumi. "No, don't start. I'm going no matter what you say. Besides, you're not exactly in the best of positions to tell me otherwise," interrupts Imuy. "Also, I'm the only one strong enough to even try to stand a chance against him." Yumi purses her lips and sighs. "Fine. But be careful. Don't do anything that could get Aelita killed," Yumi says finally and Imuy nods, then takes off.

Soon, Imuy exits the passage tower to the glacier sector. She scans the immediate area then proceeds when she is satisfied it is safe to. Meanwhile, Thadeo slides to a stop outside a cave. Aelita loosens her grip on him and exhales. Thadeo walks into the cave and glances around the cavern. Then he gently sets Aelita on the ground. She looks up at him, trembling, not knowing what he is going to do next. "Do not be afraid. We will not hurt you anymore after this one last time," Thadeo says and kneels down next to her. Aelita's digital heart skips several beats as he gently touches her cheek. "What we go to do will hurt you, but it will be the last. We promise you this, Aelita," he says in a strangely soothing manner. His hand gently rubs her cheek and Aelita begins to tremble harder. "Then, we will rule everything together, My Queen." Aelita's eyes widen in shock at his statement. She scoots away from him quickly, but he follows her instantly. "In time, Queen Aelita, you will embrace us and call us your own." His words strike fear in her heart and she shakes her head frantically. "No! I'm not your queen! I won't go along with it!" she blurts out. Thadeo stares back at her blankly, then cups both her cheeks in his hands. "If there is no one else, then you have no choice to 'go along' with it, my Queen. That is, unless you want your race to become extinct permanently when you age and die," comes the reply. "But first…" he starts, then he leans closer to her and Aelita tries to pull away but the strength in his hands holds her head in place firmly. Aelita closes her eyes tightly and lets out a cry. "NNNooo—" she starts in a pleading cry.

Ulrich and Atilea nearly fall over at the news that Aelita was kidnapped by Thadeo. Yumi begins trembling and hugs her arms. "Imuy went after him to watch him. Ulrich, what do we do?" she asks, pleading. Atilea turns to him and sees his shocked expression change to anger. "We go get her back, that's what we do!" he says, balling up his fists. "But, he could kill her! We can't take that risk!" Atilea exclaims. "Remember that he only is able to track one of us at a time. That is his weakness!" Ulrich returns without missing a beat. "But we don't know that for sure, Ulrich! He could have just been playing with us!" notes Yumi. "And we could stand here and debate the issue until we're blue in the face, Yumi. Or we could just go and take the risk!" he snaps. Yumi is taken aback by this and then realizes he is right. She sighs and nods. Atilea glances between the two, then finally pipes up nervously. "Well, what ever you do, I'm in. No question, no doubt. Ulrich, tell us and we'll do it," she says definitively. Ulrich looks at her and nods. "Ok, glad you're onboard. Yumi?" he replies. Yumi nods and the trio take off toward the passage tower.

Thadeo stands at the entrance to the cave and looks back at Aelita. She sits against the wall, with her knees pulled to her chest and her head buried in her arms, trembling. The sound of her sobs resound off the walls of the cavern and fills Thadeo's ears. "Do not cry. Soon it will be over and the Golden Age of Thadeo will begin!" he states confidently and steps out of the cave. He then produces his Energy Katana and carves a chunk out of the thick ice big enough to cover the cave entrance. Thadeo then places it in front of the entrance. Then something catches his attention. He turns and three Energy Fans strike him head on. Thadeo stumbles backwards in surprise, then feels a cutting sensation on his back, followed by an energy wave colliding with his side.

Imuy catches her returning fan and grits her teeth, trying to read Thadeo's next move. He stumbles around, then finally steadies himself and turns to look in her direction. "You. You should have not come here. You will be exterminated, Imuy!" he states coldly. Imuy tries to look threatening and replies, "You'd really kill me? But I'm the one that you really love!" Thadeo snorts in disdain. "You are of no interest to us. We only have interest in the queen we have chosen! Any others are irrelevant," comes the cold reply. Imuy narrows her eyes in curiosity. "Queen? What queen?" she asks. Thadeo narrows his eyes. "That is none of your concern."

Imuy charges her fans and prepares to throw them at him. Thadeo snorts in condescendence. "You realize that you are no match for us?" Imuy grits her teeth and a lump forms in her throat, making it difficult for her to swallow. She manages to fight the lump back and replies, "So what? You threatened my Beloved Master and I will defend him with my life! Also, I'm doing this to avenge my love H'cirlu that Dod took from me!" Thadeo returns her statement with an uncaring stare. "Then you will soon join him in death, Imuy. Prepare yourself to die." Imuy feels the lump in her throat return and a tear run down her cheek. She grits her teeth and charges Thadeo. "This is for you H'cirlu and for you, my Master! YaaaahHH!" she screams as she runs. Thadeo sighs in boredom and raises a hand towards her. "Arrow Beam…" he says nonchalantly.

Ulrich, Yumi, and Atilea exit the tower and sprints across the landscape. "Jeremie, where are they?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie pauses and looks up at Odd, who has taken a seat at the computer. Odd looks at him and shrugs. "Just look at the screen and give him the best directions you can, Odd," Jeremie says and continues his work on the computer. Odd frowns nervously. "Um, Jeremie's a bit busy, Ulrich. I'll, uh, try and guide you to them, ok?" Odd says. Ulrich glances nervously at Yumi. "Could be worse. Could be Sissi giving us directions," she states. "Ok, Odd, which way?" Ulrich asks. Odd studies the monitor for a second and then replies, "Uh, straight in front of you is a slope. It looks steep, but at the bottom is a arch of some kind over a, a tunnel, I think." The three reach the slope and glance down it. "It's an arch just before the tunnel, but that helps. Do we take the tunnel?" Yumi asks. Odd glances around the monitor before answering. "Uh, well the more direct route would be to go over on the surface, but not faster. The tunnel is curvy and longer but seems to be faster. Your choice, I guess," he replies. Ulrich glances at the two girls. "Well? Which way?" Yumi asks. "You still have that coin?" Ulrich asks Atilea. She raises an eyebrow then pulls the coin out of her skirt's waist band. "Ok, heads, we take the tunnel, tails, the surface," Ulrich says taking the coin. Yumi looks at Atilea curiously. "Where'd that come from?" she asks. Atilea shrugs innocently. "I made it," she replies simply. Ulrich flips the coin into the air and the three watch it intensely.

Jeremie slides away from the terminal and replaces the cover panel. "Geez, that was a bigger job than I thought! Not only was it a computer resource issue, but a hardware issue! I'm gonna have to put out rat poison to keep them away from the computer systems," he mutters as Odd slides gladly from the computer chair. "Ok, time to restart the materialization program. Cross your fingers!" Odd crosses all his fingers on both hands as Jeremie begins typing on the keyboard. "Come on…." he whispers as rows of code scrolls up on the monitor. Then a green plus sign in a circle pops up on the screen and Jeremie lets out a shout of glee. Odd lets out a sigh of relief. "Ulrich! Yumi! Atilea! The materialization program is up and running again! I'm bringing the scanners back online now!" he exclaims and Ulrich smiles as he, Yumi and Atilea slide on their backsides through the tunnel. "Great job, Jeremie! We're on our way to get Aelita back! Let us know where to go once we're out of this roller coaster of a tunnel!" Ulrich says and braces himself for an upcoming sharp turn.

Thadeo grimaces as he grabs an exhausted Imuy by the throat and lifts her off the ground. She groans and tries to peel his hand from around her neck but her exhaustion has taken its toll. She barely has the strength to look him in the eye. "Useless creature. Why he created you is beyond our comprehension," states Thadeo coldly. Imuy grunts and strains to answer, but her strength gives out. Thadeo snorts in contempt as her eyes slowly close. "Master….. I'm sorry…. I failed you…." she whispers.

_IMUY!_

The voice rings throughout the sector. Ulrich had finished helping Atilea stand when the voice rang out. Atilea grips his arm tightly as the three turn their heads to the sky. Ulrich realizes it was X.A.N.A. that shouted and glances at Yumi. "Oh, no…" he says and feels Atilea begin to tremble. "We gotta hurry!" he says and lets Atilea go. She starts to grab hold of him again, but stops herself when she remembers Yumi is present. Ulrich takes off, followed closely by Yumi. Atilea swallows and follows after them. Soon, the trio arrives at the edge of a sheer drop over looking a small valley. The three gasp as the scene fills their vision.

"No…" Ulrich whispers in defeat. "We're too late…."

A motionless Imuy lays on the ground at the feet of a scowling Thadeo. Behind him is a gaping hole and the three see that the chunk of ice has been placed over the entrance to a cave. Atilea stares down at Imuy, not hearing what Ulrich is saying next to her. "Atilea! Don't!" he exclaims as she suddenly leaps over the edge of the cliff and lands on the ground. "Oh, crap!" Ulrich says and follows her. Yumi shakes her head to bring herself back to reality, then follows Ulrich. Atilea runs towards Imuy's body, completely oblivious to the fact that Thadeo is preparing to attack her. Suddenly, a pair of arms grabs her waist and pulls her to the ground, several feet from Imuy's body. She strains to see who it is just as an Arrow Beam flashes past her head. Atilea glances up and sees Thadeo grit his teeth in disappointment. Then, she realizes Ulrich is on top of her and turns her head to look at him. "Get off me, Ulrich! I have to see if she…" she starts but he plants a hand on her mouth. "Quiet! He'll hear you!" he says. She blinks and sees Yumi slide to a stop behind him. Atilea suddenly feels a wave of awkwardness hit her. "I think it's a bit late for silence," Yumi says. Ulrich looks up and sees Thadeo begin walking towards them. "Great," he says and slowly stands. Atilea watches him and tries to shrug off a sudden mixture of emotions that includes her love for him and fear of Yumi getting the wrong idea.

"You should have left. Now, you all will meet the same fate as Imuy!" Thadeo says angrily. "Can we see the body first?" pipes up Atilea, which causes Thadeo to pause. She slides a little ways away from Ulrich and stands. Thadeo considers her request. "Very well. You may, but only you. No one else," he replies and steps aside. Atilea cautiously walks past him and over to Imuy. She kneels down and sees that her eyes have turned blank. A sudden wave of sorrow overtakes her and she begins crying. "Imuy…" Atilea whispers and takes Imuy's limp hand. "I wish that you would have seen the world as I did. You would have enjoyed it as much as I have," she says and gently brushes a strand of Imuy's ebony hair out of her face. "Jeremie, can you do anything?" Atilea asks finally.

Jeremie hangs his head in sorrow. "No, nothing. I'm… sorry Atilea," he replies. Odd realizes what has happened and turns away from the computer screen. "I… I never apologized to her for attacking her…. when she was… here," he says sadly and Jeremie looks over at him sympathetically. He reaches over and places a hand on Odd's shoulder comfortingly. "I'm sure she would have accepted it, even though she may not have shown it."

Atilea gently folds Imuy's hands on her chest and fights back more tears that threaten to fall. Then, she glances up at the blocked cave entrance. "Where's my sister?" she asks blandly. Thadeo raises an eyebrow. "Our queen is safe. And she is quite happy with the accommodations we have provided for her until the task at hand is completed," he replies coldly. Atilea crinkles her brow in confusion and turns to look at him. "Your…queen? What have you done with her?" she says standing. Thadeo turns and replies, "Only given her the mark of approval. She will make the perfect queen for us to have beside us when we rule this world and the human world!" Atilea grows wide-eyed with shock, then her look turns to anger. "If you have hurt my sister…" she starts but is cut off by a snort of indifference from Thadeo. "She is unharmed. However, you three, on the other hand, will not be!" he replies gruffly.

Then, Atilea feels a hand wrap around her throat. She gasps as she realizes that Thadeo has her in a choke. Atilea tries to peel his hand from her neck but his strength is too much for her. Thadeo raises his other hand to strike. Atilea closes her eyes, trying to prepare herself for the inevitable. Thadeo lashes towards her, but suddenly screams in pain and his striking hand stops short of Atilea's face. Atilea's eyes pop open and she sees Ulrich with his sword in the forearm of the hand that has her by the neck. Thadeo releases her and she collapses to the ground. Ulrich yanks the blade out of Thadeo's forearm violently and Thadeo lets out a painful yell. Ulrich wastes no time delivering an energy wave from the sword that knocks Thadeo backwards. Ulrich sprints toward him and leaps into the air, landing a kick squarely on his neck. Thadeo stumbles backwards and falls to the ground. He opens his eyes just as Ulrich appears in the air above him. A look of surprise crosses his face just before rolling away and Ulrich crashes to the ground, driving his sword into the ice. Ulrich stands quickly, pulling his sword out of the ground, and sprints towards the standing Thadeo. Thadeo turns and swings an arm to hit Ulrich but Ulrich anticipates the attack and drops to the ground, sliding into Thadeo's legs with a foot aimed at his knee. Ulrich's foot finds its mark and Thadeo falls to the ground again. Ulrich slides on past him and hops up. Thadeo rolls onto his back and lifts his head to look at Ulrich. The look of surprise remains on his face then he starts to stand. Suddenly, an energy wave slams into him from behind. He falls forward and Ulrich sees Yumi gritting her teeth in anger. Ulrich smiles at her and sees Atilea jog behind her. She then leans close to Yumi and whisper something to her. Ulrich raises an eyebrow and sees Yumi turn to her and give her a curious look. Atilea just nods and steps out from behind Yumi. Thadeo stirs and catches Ulrich's attention.

Then, Thadeo lunges up at Ulrich, but Ulrich somehow manages to dodge the attack. Thadeo looks surprised by this and changes positions in midair to attack again, but Ulrich blocks it. "This is not possible!" whispers Thadeo to himself as he passes Ulrich and lands. Yumi sends an energy wave at Thadeo to distract him, allowing Ulrich to get in for another attack. Slowly, the two work Thadeo away from the cave and Atilea smiles that her plan is working. Ulrich kicks Thadeo away and he slides into an ice formation. Yumi quickly leans over to Ulrich and whispers in his ear, "Those shuriken things! Get ready to use them!" He nods and scoops Yumi up in his arms, surprising her and she lets out a squeak. He sprints back to Atilea and gently sets Yumi down and looks over at Atilea. He smiles at her and nods. Atilea returns his smile and the two take a couple of steps towards Thadeo, who is now standing and gritting his teeth in anger. "He's probably recovered by now. Think the Demon Wind Shuriken will affect him?" Ulrich asks. Atilea shrugs and replies, "Who knows? But it's worth a try!" Ulrich nods and sees Thadeo walking towards them. Then, Ulrich and Atilea pull out their shuriken and smiles deviously at Thadeo. Thadeo pauses and surveys the two, wondering what they are doing. Ulrich and Atilea spin their shuriken and the blades spin around the central ring and lock into place. Thadeo's brow crinkles in wonder as Ulrich and Atilea begin pouring energy into the shurikens. "What is this? What attack are they doing?" muses Thadeo and watches them carefully.

"This is it, Thadeo! Your time is up! This ends here!" shouts a confident Atilea. Thadeo raises an eyebrow before a disbelieving smile creeps onto his face. "You do not seriously think that two measly shuriken can do anything to us?" he retorts. Ulrich's smile widens and replies, "Heh, these aren't just an old ordinary shuriken." Thadeo's certainty drops and stares intently at them. Atilea and Ulrich glance and each other and nod. "DEMON WIND SHURIKEN! TORNADO-BLAST!" the pair yells at the top of their lungs and throw both shuriken simultaneously at Thadeo. Thadeo gets a shocked look and steps backwards. The two shuriken fly towards him and the left one begins to edge ahead of the right. Thadeo prepares to catch it but a sudden in-rush of air catches his attention. The right shuriken begins to create a massive tornado and Thadeo gasps in shock. "That is not logical! That is….impossible!" he stammers. The first shuriken flies past him, clipping his neck. He yelps and grabs his neck, but the sound of the humongous tornado retakes his attention.

"We've got'em!" says Atilea excitedly. Ulrich touches her shoulder and says, "Don't celebrate too early, Atilea. We have to see how he handles this first." She forces her excitement down and nods, then places a hand on his back. Then, she sees her shuriken returning to her and reaches up to catch it. "Looks like we figured out which one was the real thing!" she says smiling at him. Yumi runs up to Ulrich's other side and wraps an arm around his neck.

Thadeo frantically fires an Arrow Beam at the massive tornado, but the beam just gets swallowed up in the vortex. "N…No…NO! This cannot be! We cannot be destroyed!" Thadeo exclaims, but the tornado keeps coming at him. "Go…GO! Hit him hard!" shouts Atilea at the tornado. Thadeo frantically looks around for a place to run to, but sees none. Then, the tornado collides with him and he gets swallowed up in the vortex. The three let out a victorious shout and jump in excitement. Yumi and Ulrich collide into a hug, then separates. Instinctively, he and Atilea embrace, then they hear the tornado collide with the cliff. The ground shakes violently and the three fall, with Atilea landing on top of Ulrich. Then, the sound of chunks of ice hitting the ground around them makes the three leap up instantly. Atilea sees a huge chunk of ice flying towards them and instinctively creates a dome around them. "This thing won't last long! We gotta get into that cave! Yumi, can you move that ice block from in front of the entrance?" Atilea asks quickly, pointing back at the cave. Yumi glances at it quickly, then up at the debris raining down at them. "I better be able to or we'll be crushed!" she replies and turns to face the cave. "I'll try to keep the dome over us as long as I can!" Atilea remarks and lifts her hands up to the dome. Large chunks of ice pelt against the dome top, threatening to break through, but Atilea forces the dome to hold together. Yumi concentrates her psychokinetic energy and begins to slowly move the massive ice block away from the cave door. Ulrich watches the ice block move and sees that it is sufficiently open enough that they can get in. "Ok, Yumi, that's far enough! It's open enough! Let's go!" he exclaims and grabs Atilea's collar, giving her a gentle tug. She turns and Ulrich cuts a hole in the dome with his sword. The three rush out, dodging the now smaller debris falling from the sky. Ulrich reaches the entrance first, but lets Yumi and Atilea enter first. He watches as the biggest ice chunk falls onto the dome, crushing it completely. "Ouch, that would have hurt…" he whispers and feels a pair of hands grab him and pull him inside.

Atilea surveys the room and sees a figure hunched against the far wall. Then, a sob resonates throughout the room. Atilea feels a pang of fear and worry hit her heart as she comes to realize that it is Aelita. "S—sis? Is that you?" she asks nervously. Then, Atilea rushes over to the figure and sees that it is Aelita. Aelita remains seated and doesn't even look up, but still has her knees in her chest and head in her arms.

"A—Aelita? Sis? What's wrong? What happened?" Atilea asks worrisome.

Nothing, just sobbing.

"Sis, please, it's me! Atilea, your sister!"

More sobbing. Ulrich and Yumi stand behind Atilea staring down at Aelita.

"Talk to me, Sis. I need to hear your voice…" Atilea says and gently touches Aelita's ankle. Suddenly, Aelita flails wildly, kicking Atilea and knocking her over.

"DON'T TOUCH ME! GET AWAY! I HATE YOU!" Aelita explodes wildly and bawls loudly, covering up her face. Atilea sits up in shock and stares at her sister. Then, she feels her heart get stabbed with the pain of Aelita's words to her. Ulrich kneels down to Atilea and whispers, "I don't think she knows who you are. I think she thinks that Thadeo is in here! It wasn't you that she said those thing to." Atilea swallows and tries to get herself to believe that Ulrich is right, but finds that it is harder than she expected.

Aelita curls into a ball again and cries loudly. Atilea slowly sits up and decides to try again to reach her sister. "Aelita! It's me, Atilea! Not Thadeo! Please, look at me," she pleads and Aelita balls up tighter.

Yumi stares at Aelita in shock. "What did he do to her?" she asks as Ulrich stands up next to her. He sighs and a look of worry crosses his face. "I don't know, but whatever it was, it traumatized her so bad that she doesn't even recognize her sister's voice or ours," he replies solemnly.

"Sis, look at me, please. I'm here to get you out of here!"

No response.

Atilea then gets a determined look on her face. "If you don't look at me willingly, then I'll just have to…" She stops when a hand catches her shoulder. "Don't. Not that way," says Ulrich. "It could drive her farther away." Atilea nods and softens her tone a bit.

"Aelita Anne Hopper, snap out of it!" she says firmly.

The sobbing stops abruptly.

"Sis, it's me, Atilea. Look at me. Ulrich and Yumi are here too! We're here to take you home!"

Aelita's fingers part and Atilea sees a teary eye stare out at her. Then suddenly, Aelita gasps in relief and lunges towards her, wrapping her arms around her sister's neck. "Atilea! It's you! It's really you!" Aelita exclaims and buries her head into Atilea's neck. Atilea wraps her arms around her sister and holds her as she begins to cry again. "It's ok, it's ok, you're all right now," consoles Atilea and feels tears hitting her neck. "What did he do to you?" she whispers and feels Aelita tighten her grip on her, partially choking her. "Ak! Aelita! You're choking me!"

Aelita instantly releases her and sits back. "I—I'm sorry…." she mumbles apologetically and hangs her head shamefully. "It's ok, sis, I'm just glad you're…..ok… aren't you?" Atilea says, trailing off as she realizes Aelita is acting strange. "What happened? What did Thadeo do to you?" Atilea asks, growing angry with Thadeo. Aelita shakes her head and hides it from her sister. "No! I don't wanna…." Aelita starts but Atilea interrupts her. "You must. Tell me what he did to you!"

"Atilea, leave it for now. She'll tell us when she's ready. Right now, I'd like for us to go and look for the body. I want to make sure he's gone for good!" Ulrich says firmly. Atilea looks up at him and starts to object, but the seriousness in his eyes causes her to nod in agreement. "Yumi, go and open the cave door the rest of the way. Atilea, help Aelita up and follow us outside," Ulrich states and Yumi nods. She uses a quick but powerful burst of psychokinetic energy to blow the ice block several feet away from the door. Ulrich looks at her surprised. "Wow, when did you learn to do that?" he asks. She shrugs and smiles slightly. "I just thought I'd give it a shot," Yumi replies humbly. "That was totally cool!" he says and heads out of the cave. "Maybe, but don't ask me to do it again. It takes quite a bit out of me," Yumi replies.

Once outside, Ulrich and Yumi survey the area. A huge trench dug by the tornado is the main sight and it leads straight to the cliff's face which now has a massive crater in the side of it where the tornado collided with it. The two walk carefully towards the cliff face, but keeps a watchful eye in case Thadeo somehow survived. Atilea and Aelita exit the cave and Aelita's jaw drops at the sight. "Whoa…" is all she can say. Atilea chuckles and remarks, "You should have been out here to see it." Ulrich and Yumi reach the cliff and see the shuriken lodged in the face, but no Thadeo. Ulrich frowns and looks around for any trace that Thadeo is dead or not. "Watch my back. I'm going to get the shuriken down," Ulrich says to Yumi and she nods. He climbs up the face and takes hold of the shuriken but pauses when it shifts. "Uh, oh…" he whispers.

Thadeo bursts out of the cliff face holding onto one of the blades of the shuriken. Ulrich lets go and drops to the ground as Thadeo flies through the air and lands between them and the cave. Atilea and Aelita freeze in their tracks. Atilea feels Aelita grab her arm tightly and begin to panic. Atilea notes her behavior, but chooses not to pursue the reason and just gently pushes a freaked out Aelita behind her. Thadeo eyes Ulrich and Yumi as she helps Ulrich to his feet. Thadeo tosses the shuriken into the nearby sea and it sinks into oblivion. "Ooh, he's angry," notes Ulrich. "Gee, ya think? You plastered him inside a cliff with a huge tornado. I'd be angry too!" Yumi remarks with a bit of sarcasm. "You dive left, I'll dive right," Ulrich says, ignoring her comments. Yumi nods and watches Thadeo walk towards them. Suddenly, he lunges at them and they dive in their designated directions, causing Thadeo to only punch the cliff face. Ulrich and Yumi roll up into fighting stance, ready to defend themselves from any attack he may throw at them.

"Yumi! Ulrich! Move!" comes a sudden shout from Atilea. The two dive out of the way as a massive spray of water strikes Thadeo. Ulrich turns to see Atilea using her creativity ability to siphon water from the sea and send it at Thadeo. Thadeo thrashes around and pulls his fist free of the wall. Suddenly, the water around him begins to freeze and incase him entirely. Atilea continues to douse him with water and freeze it around him. Soon, Thadeo is in a solid block of ice, but Atilea doesn't stop. Yumi and Ulrich run up to her and watches as she puts on another two feet of ice, then switches from the water to creating sheets of the hardest rock she can create. Layer after layer, Atilea continues to pile it on Thadeo and soon he is thoroughly buried under several tons of rock and ice. Atilea drops her hands and pants heavily. "Geez, that's a lot!" Ulrich says, catching her as she almost falls over on him. "I'm not quite done yet. Just one last thing," she replies and braces herself against him. "Gotta seal all the cracks!" Atilea lifts her left hand and concentrates. The rest of the group watches as the major seams seal up perfectly. When the last one finally closes, she drops her hand in exhaustion. Ulrich holds her up and she smiles defiantly at the now massive rock dome that connects with the cliff.

"He'll get out of there. Eventually. But not today," Atilea says and lets go of Ulrich and he lets her lay down on the ground. Yumi glances between them and sees Ulrich start walking towards the dome. Aelita crouches next to her tired sister and watches Yumi follow Ulrich. "How long until he breaks out?" he asks. Atilea lifts her tired head and replies, "Oh, I dunno, couple of days or so." Yumi turns to him and asks, "What now?" Ulrich turns to her and grabs her shoulders caringly. "We go home," is his reply and a look of relief washes over his face. A smile slowly appears on his girlfriends face and the two embrace each other while planting a huge kiss on each other's lips. Atilea smiles and lays her head down on the ground, but keeps her eye on Ulrich. Aelita gently touches her shoulder and she turns her head to look at Aelita. "I love you, Atilea, and I didn't mean those things I said," Aelita says apologetically. Atilea smiles warmly at her and replies, "I know, Sis. You thought we were Thadeo coming back. I naturally assumed that you had heard all the ruckus we were causing outside and knew it was us." Then Atilea's smile disappears. "Oh my, Ulrich, I forgot! Imuy's body!" Ulrich turns and scans the area, then spots Imuy's body a little ways away. Aelita looks down at Atilea and sees that her eyes tell the story. "She's… gone, isn't she?" Aelita asks, despite knowing what Atilea's answer will be. Atilea simply nods and lowers her eyes. Ulrich shoves a hunk of ice off Imuy's body and Yumi helps him lift the body off the ground and carry it to a clear area.

Ulrich swallows and nervously looks up in the sky. "X.A.N.A.? Are you there?" he asks.

Silence.

"X.A.N.A.? Answer me."

Still silence.

"Do you… want us to bury her here or do you…" Ulrich starts again but is cut off by X.A.N.A.

_Please, my daughter… she… was my favorite… I…Don't get me wrong, I loved every one of my children, but she was so….special to me…. Let me hold her…._

Ulrich motions to Yumi to step back and the two steps away from Imuy's lifeless form as a soft red glow envelopes her. The body rises into the air and remains suspended for several minutes.

"I'm sorry, if we had gotten here sooner, maybe we could have…" Ulrich starts but X.A.N.A. interrupts him.

_No, it would not have made a difference. She…. sacrificed herself for me. That was the true essence of my daughter's love. I could not have asked her to do a more nobler task. As for her burial, I will tend to that, Ulrich, but our deal still remains. As you know, Thadeo is only trapped in that rather impressive dome Atilea created._

"I remember the deal, X.A.N.A. But we must rest and regroup. Our strongest member is now…. you know. For now, we will leave Lyoko and rest up for when Thadeo does break out of there," Ulrich states wearily.

_Very well. Rest. Regroup. I wait for your return. Until then, I will recover my strength and give Imuy the proper burial she deserves._

Ulrich nods and watches as Imuy's body floats away into the sky, then wraps an arm around Yumi's waist. He turns to look at her and she can see the weariness in his eyes. "Let's go home," he says and leans his head against hers. "Jeremie, you know what to do."


	14. A Sister's Love

_**Disclaimer:** Don't own Code Lyoko…_

_**WARNING! HUGE CHAPTER!**_

_**Note: Author's ramblings at end of chapter, if you're the kind to read that sort of stuff…**_

**Code: Lyoko **

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part XII: A Sister's Love**

Atilea stirs in her bed and sighs. She rolls over on her side, trying to get into a comfortable position that will cause her still racing mind to calm down and let her sleep. She grunts in frustration and tosses back the sheets, then sits up. Atilea glances at the clock and groans upon seeing the time. "A quarter till three. Geez, I've got to get to sleep," she mumbles, running a hand down her face. She begins staring out the window and up at the stars. The night was especially clear tonight and Atilea loved to look up at them, despite only being in the real world for only a short time. She slides out of bed and walks to the window to open it. She leans on the window pane and gazes up at the innumerable stars. A small smile forms on her lips and a gentle, cool breeze blows in, causing her hair to rustle slightly. Then, the scent of the flowers on the ivy fills her nostrils and she glances at the now closed blossoms on the vine. Everything was different at night. Smells, sounds, feelings, everything seemed more… pronounced at night. Atilea reasons that maybe it was because all the typical distractions of daytime living were silenced and that allowed the body's senses to fully take in things.

Atilea's gaze returns to the stars and her eyes follow the long band of stars that represent the edge of the galaxy. Then, her thoughts begin to dwell on Ulrich. She smiles as the image of him sprinting in front of her to protect her from Dod's laser arrow. She giggles to herself as her mind shows her the time the two of them started completing each other's sentences. Then, her mind leads her to the kiss she gave him in the scanner room. Atilea hugs her arms and closes her eyes, smiling. Then, she shakes her head and forces herself to remember her promise to Yumi. Atilea sighs, then her mind leads her to Imuy's sacrifice. Atilea's smile fades as her mind replays the memory of the moment she first saw Imuy lying motionless at Thadeo's feet. Atilea's brow wrinkles with sadness as she opens her eyes and gazes out across the forest landscape. A gentle breeze blows through the trees, rustling the leaves slightly. Her mind falls on the image of X.A.N.A. lifting Imuy's lifeless body and carrying it away. A tear begins to well up in her eye as a sudden wave of loneliness hits her. She was the last one. The last one of the created twins. Well, technically, Thadeo is Dod and H'cirlu merged, but all that they were as individuals was gone, and now, a new entity, Thadeo, exists in their place. So, in essence, they are gone also. She was the last of the twins, but she was free of X.A.N.A. Free to live her life like she so chooses to. That has to count for something, right? But, this loneliness, will it ever go away? Sure, she has Aelita as a sister, but in all honesty, she's not really a true sister. All that she is, all that she feels, is nothing more than a copy of Aelita. But, ever since she arrived and began to truly feel things for herself, those copies of feelings began to change. They changed into her own feelings, her own emotions, and her own love. They grew and changed, and she noticed that she began to rely less and less on the experiences planted in her from Aelita, but to rely on her own experiences. Like, feeling guilty when she forced herself on Ulrich and kissed him. Then, learning the true meaning of love from none other than Imuy.

Atilea pauses and wonders why she had never truly recognized that type of love before, but it was there before her every time Aelita, Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, or even Imuy put themselves in harms way to protect the one they cared about. Could she ever show that kind of love for someone? To lay down her life to save someone else's? Did she have the capacity to do to that? Atilea rubs her arms gently and sighs deeply. She'd like to think she would lay down her life for someone special. But can she do it when the time comes for her to take that step? Imuy did. She died for her master X.A.N.A. and for the love of H'cirlu. Aelita once told her that there wasn't a love greater than that of someone who would willingly lay down their life for someone else. Could she die for Aelita, or Ulrich, or Yumi? Does she really love and care for them enough to go that distance?

Atilea shakes her head to clear it of all the questions that is beginning to flood her mind. She looks up at the stars again and smiles. The stars were so beautiful to look at and it always seemed to sooth her. She starts to sigh, but it turns into a yawn. Atilea closes the window and returns to her bed, pulling the sheets to her neck. She didn't have time to wonder if she would fall asleep, for as soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.

A few short hours later, Atilea wakes to the sound of rain. She shuffles underneath the sheets, curling into a ball, then she glances over at the clock. Fifteen past ten. Atilea yawns and finds the sound of the rain falling to be a surprisingly effective sedative. She starts to drift back to sleep, but a sudden crack of lightening and the resounding boom of thunder jolts her awake. Atilea sits up wide-eyed with her heart racing. "Oh, geez…" she mumbles as she tries to calm her body down and lays back down. A low rumble of thunder causes her to turn her head and look out the window, which is now slightly fogged around the edges. Atilea sighs and finds that her sleepiness has left her for now. She slides out of the bed and walks to the window, then begins watching the rain fall. A flash of lightening in the distance catches her eye and she watches it arc across the sky in its zig-zaggie pattern. A rumble of thunder rolls through the house a few seconds later and Atilea shivers slightly in the now cooler air of the room. She'd never seen the rain fall with her own eyes and found it fascinating to watch, but thunder and lightening, that was different. She enjoyed seeing the lightening arc across the sky and to hear the gentle rumble of the following thunder, but when she is rudely awakened by a loud crack and boom, well, that is something she could live without.

A yawn escapes her lips and the warm air from her mouth fogs the window up more. Atilea smiles and giggles as she writes her name in the fog. Then, after the feeling of childishness leaves her, she wipes her name and the remaining fog away with her hand. She sighs and wipes her hand on her pajama leg, then resumes watching the rain. Two distance arcs of lightening mesmerize her and the resulting thunder fills her ears as the rain begins to fall harder. Another yawn escapes her lips and Atilea begins to feel the sedative-like effect of the rain take hold of her once more. She turns and glances at the clock, then over to her bed, and finds the decision to either climb back into bed or remain up a very hard one to make. Then, a loud crack and boom startles her and she instantly makes the decision to stay awake. "Definitely do not want to be woke up by that again!" she says to herself and walks over to her bed to make it up.

Afterwards, Atilea shuffles through her clothes to find something to wear. She finally decides on an olive green, contour fit, v-neck shirt and a pair of hip-hugger jeans. She then selects a set of undergarments and heads to the bathroom to shower. Twenty minutes later, Atilea returns to her room and sets her pajamas down on the bed, then finishes drying her hair. Then, a knock on the downstairs door causes a smile to appear on her lips and she slips on her flip-flops. Atilea drops the towel on the bed next to her pajamas, then heads downstairs to answer the door. She peeks out and sees Aelita with a large, pink umbrella standing with a soggy Jeremie along with Ulrich and Odd behind them, both with their own umbrellas. She opens the door and Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd closes their umbrellas.

"Hey, Sis!" Atilea says cheerfully, then a disgruntled grunt from Jeremie draws her attention. "What happened to you? Where's your umbrella?" Atilea asks as he gently pushes past her. He mumbles something incoherent and plops down hard in a chair as water begins to drip from his jacket. Atilea stares wide-eyed at him and blinks. Aelita stands her umbrella next to Ulrich and Odd's, then whispers, "A sudden gust of wind tore his umbrella up." Atilea lets the remaining three in and eyes Jeremie nervously. His glasses have fogged up and have droplets of water all on the lenses but he seems to not care. "I tried to cover him with my umbrella but it's not quite big enough," Aelita finishes, whispering to her sister. Atilea nods slowly and glances at the floor where a small puddle has collected underneath his chair. "Let me get you a towel," Atilea says to Jeremie. He pulls his glasses down slightly to see and frowns up at her. He mumbles something resembling a thank you then shoves his glasses back up. Atilea gives him a strained smile and heads upstairs.

Once upstairs, Atilea enters the bathroom and grabs a couple of the largest towels off the make-shift towel rack. She turns and jumps upon seeing Ulrich standing behind her. She lets out a squeak of surprise and nearly drops the towels. "Ulrich! You startled me!" Atilea exclaims and he giggles at her. She frowns playfully at him and throws a towel at him. He catches it and gives her a big smile. "Sorry, but I thought I'd help. Jeremie's umbrella not only tore, but it was torn from his hand! And that was, um, roughly half way here," he replies. Atilea chuckles and grabs another towel off the rack. She hears him sigh nervously and turns to look at him. His smile had disappeared and a faint frown has replaced it. "But that isn't the only reason why I came up here," Ulrich says quietly. She feels her heartbeat quicken and her face become warmer than usual. "I wanted to talk to you about… you know." Atilea drops her eyes and leans against the plastic shower door gently. "The kiss…" she whispers. "I'm sorry, Ulrich. I shouldn't have done that. I—I know that it was wrong to kiss you! I'm sorry!"

Ulrich smiles warmly and steps towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know, and I accept your apology. You're still relatively new to this world and I give you the benefit of the doubt… this time," he replies. Atilea looks up at him promptly and sees that he is smiling. "Yumi told me that you apologized to her already. Just promise me that you won't kiss me without permission, ok?" Atilea looks at him, trying to decide if he is being light-hearted or something else. Then, he draws her into a hug, taking her by surprise. "You're a good friend and I like you as a friend," Ulrich says to her and withdraws. "You're a wonderful sister to Aelita and an incredible fighter. You've also have a big heart." Atilea opens her mouth to speak, but her words die in her throat as it begins to tighten. He smiles warmly and chuckles. "Promise me that you won't beat yourself up over this, ok?" he asks. Atilea swallows to moisten her throat so she can speak. "Ok, Ulrich, I won't, and thank you for forgiving me. I won't ever kiss you again as long as I live!" she replies finally. His right eyebrow flicks upward. "Well, you don't have to go that far. Just don't do it while Yumi and I are together." Atilea looks into his eyes and shakes her head. "You two are going to be together forever!" she exclaims. Ulrich chuckles and exits the bathroom. "Yeah, maybe. Really depends on what the two of us decides to do once we graduate," he says as Atilea jogs to catch up with him. "Oh, come on, Ulrich. I know that the two of you will work things out so you'll be together," Atilea says. Ulrich smiles at her and nods. "Maybe." Atilea gives him a curious look. "Maybe? Don't you want to be with her?" she asks. "Well, yeah, but if it turns out that the career she chooses puts a strain on our relationship, then there's only one right answer. You have to understand, I love Yumi and I want her to be happy. I want her to follow her dreams and do what she wants to do. I don't want to get in her way," Ulrich replies and pauses to glance out a window. Atilea feels her heart drop. "Ulrich, don't talk that way! You two are perfect for each other! I know that you're going to find something to do together! I don't want you two split up!" Ulrich turns and chuckles at her, then bonks her gently in the face with his towel. She blinks in shock for a minute, then gets a strained smile on her face. "Geez, relax, Atilea. You act as if we're graduating tomorrow! That's not for a while yet! There's plenty of time to see how things turn out. Until then, Yumi and I are going to enjoy each other!" he says. She nods and says, "Ok, sounds fair, but please tell me you didn't just hit me in the face with that towel?" Ulrich gets a devious look and replies, "Yep! And guess what?" He bops her again in the face. "Ulrich Stern…" she starts. "I did it again!" he says and takes off down the hall. She growls in playful anger and takes off after him.

Once downstairs, Atilea sees him stop and hand Jeremie his towel, then stand behind him, eyeing her victoriously. Atilea frowns and says, "Oh, sure. Run and hide behind the soggy, wet genius! Chicken." Jeremie glances up at each of them. "What? What's going on? I want out of this!" he says in a mixture of nervousness and defensiveness. "Relax, Jeremie. It's not everyday you get to be the human shield!" Ulrich replies. Jeremie gives him an appalled look. "No! No! I don't want to be a human shield! Leave me alone!" he exclaims and covers his face with the towel. "Well, Ulrich is about this close to having that rematch he promised me! And I don't care who's here!" Atilea exclaims defiantly while holding up her hand with her fore-finger and thumb an inch apart. Odd glances at her and raises a dubious eyebrow. "Rematch? What kind of rematch?" he asks. "A pillow fight rematch," Ulrich replies and pulls a chair up. Odd tries to contain a chuckle, then states, "Good luck." Atilea gives him a disproving glare and replies, "After I mop the floor with Ulrich, you'll be next!" She hands her towels to Jeremie and he takes them gladly.

Atilea pauses and asks, "Wait, why aren't you guys in school?" Jeremie takes his glasses off and sets them down to dry his face and hair. "Because the power company's sub-station got hit by lightening. But not only that, the roads are flooded and the truck carrying the replacement equipment can't get through. So, Principal Delmas just let school out until they can get the power back on," Jeremie states and drops a towel on the puddle underneath his chair. "Oh. And where's Yumi?" she asks, sitting down next to Aelita. "She's stuck at home. Her street is under water," Ulrich replies. Atilea nods and pulls her feet out of her flip-flops, then crosses them Indian-style. "So, you guys decided to brave the rain and come visit me?" she asks, propping her head in her hand. Aelita turns and smiles at her. "Something like that. Actually, Jeremie wanted to go to the factory and upload a program he wrote that will monitor Thadeo and let us know when he breaks free of his, um, tomb," Aelita says. "Yeah, if the disk isn't ruined from the rain," mumbles Jeremie. He reaches into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulls out a plastic CD case. He rolls it over in his hands, examining it thoroughly. "Seems ok, but I won't know until I try to run it."

"Odd and I just came along so we wouldn't be bored," Ulrich says and Odd nods in agreement. Atilea shakes her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe you guys walked in the pouring rain. I would have stayed inside," Atilea says. "Well, I need to get this up and running as soon as I can," Jeremie replies and replaces his glasses. "And I better get going. Aelita, if you want, you can stay here. Odd and Ulrich can come a keep me company." Aelita gives him a sad look. "Are you sure? You might need my help," she says. Jeremie gets up and steps over to her, then gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. "No, that's ok. I can handle it. Really. Spend some time with your sister," he replies, giving her a gentle smile. She sticks her bottom lip out playfully, causing him to chuckle. "Wanna take my umbrella?" she asks. Jeremie's smile disappears and he steps back. "No thank you! I'll pass. I'm still soaked. A little more rain isn't going to kill me," he replies. The sister's glance at each other, then Atilea states, "I think he just doesn't want to be seen carrying a pink umbrella!" Jeremie purses his lips and replies, "No, that's not it!" Ulrich smiles deviously and says, "Oh, leave him alone! If he doesn't want to use an umbrella when it's offered to him, that's his choice. Odd, I'm going to get my 'brown' umbrella. Would you like me to bring you your 'dark purple' umbrella?" Odd catches onto his joke and replies, "Sure, Ulrich, that would be nice! You know, I just love my 'purple' umbrella!"

"Ok, that's enough. Leave him alone," Aelita says as Jeremie shoots the pair an angry glare. "Jeremie, ignore them. Just go and load the monitoring program up." Aelita stands and follows him to the basement stairwell. "I'll look around here for another umbrella for you, Jeremie," Atilea says and he turns to nod at her. As Ulrich and Odd retrieve their umbrellas, Aelita gives them a warning glance. "Behave, you two. I don't want to have to tell Yumi and Samantha that you were not playing nice," she says as they walk past her. Ulrich and Odd turn and give her an innocent smile. "Ok, Aelita. Have fun, you two!" Ulrich replies. Atilea leans around her sister and eyes Ulrich deviously. "And when you get back, prepare for war, Ulrich!" she says, brandishing a small pillow at him. Ulrich just smiles and nods slightly, then he and Odd turn to follow Jeremie. "She has no idea what she's getting into, does she?" Odd asks. "Nope. Not a clue, but that doesn't seem to have stopped her," Ulrich replies.

Later that afternoon, Atilea finds herself alone again in the Hermitage. She curls up on the couch and stares blankly out the living room window. After the boys returned from the factory, Jeremie and Aelita left to go work on his science project. Ulrich got a call from Yumi, letting him know that her father wanted to get to know him better. He left shortly thereafter to try and forge his way to her house. Odd left after he did, saying that he had to go and check on Kiwi. She had watched them go, sad that she didn't get to pelt Ulrich with a pillow and that she was once again alone. Atilea sighs and rests her head on the armrest of the couch. It wasn't the most in-style couch in the world, but it was the most comfortable. She didn't realize that she had been lulled to sleep by the rain until she started dreaming of a talking dandelion, upon which, she shook herself awake and rolled over onto her back. She stares up at the ceiling and sighs again, wishing that she had someone to talk to. "I guess I could always talk to myself," she jokes to herself, then giggles. "No, that's a sign you're going crazy!" Atilea says chuckling and gets up off the couch. She slides on her flip-flops and heads upstairs to her room. Once there, she glances around and decides to finish reading the book on archeology that Aelita had checked out of the library for her. She discovered that archeology had began to fascinate her and wanted to learn more about it. Atilea kicks off her flip-flops and picks up the thick book, then lays down on her back on her bed, sliding her feet under the sheets. "Let's see, where was I?" she whispers and looks for her bookmark.

Meanwhile, Ulrich leaps over an overflowing puddle and glances up to see Yumi's house in front of him. He sees movement in an upstairs window and smiles, knowing that it was Yumi watching for him. He walks up to the door and closes his umbrella, then knocks. "I'll get it!" comes Yumi's muffled voice through the door and hears someone running through the house. Then someone shouts scoldingly at her, "Yumi! Don't run through the house!" Yumi opens the door and replies, "Sorry, Mom!" She turns and smiles big at him. "Hey, Baby! Glad you could make it!" she says and gives him a hug and a quick kiss. Ulrich smiles and stands his umbrella and takes off his wet and muddy shoes before entering. Yumi leans close to him as he enters and whispers, "My dad's been stuck here all day. He wasn't able to go to work due to the road, and he's been a bit on edge. I tried to get him to mellow out as much as I could before you got here so he wouldn't slam you hard with things." Ulrich nods nervously and replies, "Well, at least I have your mother in my corner if things get too dicey." Yumi giggles and leads him into the living room. Ulrich smiles and waves at Mrs. Ishiyama as she comes out of the utility room. She returns his smile and heads upstairs, carrying a basket of clean clothes. "Hiroki! Come and fold the towels!" she says and knocks on his door. "Aww, Mom! Do I hafta?" Ulrich hears him ask. "Yes, you 'hafta'. Yumi has company and is going to be talking to your father. Now, go, young man!" is the reply. Ulrich smiles inwardly, then glances over at Yumi. "Are you sure you didn't ask me to come over just to get out of doing laundry?" he asks her. "Maybe," comes a reply from her father. Ulrich turns as sees him sitting in his recliner looking up at him. Yumi blushes and says defensively, "No, I didn't! I—I just thought this was a good a time as any for the two of you to, um, get to know each other." Mr. Ishiyama snorts in disbelief but Ulrich sees a sly smile creep onto his face. "It's true! I didn't know when you were going to have another day off, Dad!"

"Uh, huh," her father replies blandly, lifting his newspaper up so that it hid his devious smile.

"But, Dad, with your new position at work…" Yumi starts but stops when Ulrich touches her shoulder.

"Yumi, he's just messing with your mind," Ulrich states, catching onto her dad's behavior. Yumi glances at Ulrich, then over to her dad. Mr. Ishiyama holds back a snicker and drops the newspaper. Yumi blushes and says, "Dad, you promised you'd behave!" Mr. Ishiyama raises an eyebrow. "No, I didn't. I never said 'I promise'. Besides, it's a father's prerogative to embarrass his daughter in front of her boyfriend. Ulrich, would you like to see some of Yumi's baby pictures?" Yumi's jaw drops and Ulrich presses his lips together to prevent a laugh from escaping. "Actually, your wife showed me a few already," he replies. Yumi whips her head around to look at him, appalled. "What! When!" she bursts out. "Um, when I was over here talking to your mother. You had gotten up to go to the restroom and your mom pulled out some baby pictures after you left the room," Ulrich replies and tries not to giggle. Yumi's face first turns pale then goes beet red. She turns away and hides her face in her hands. "Oh, no…." she mumbles and Ulrich glances over at her father. A huge smile is plastered on his face as he watches his daughter squirm in embarrassment. He folds the paper and sets it in his lap, then says to Ulrich, "Have a seat, Ulrich. I'm sure you've guessed by now that I have a few questions for you." Ulrich nods and takes a seat then looks up to see Yumi slide down next to him, still red faced.

Two days went by without incident. Now, it was Friday and Atilea lays on her bed with her second archeology book. It is around five in the afternoon and her stomach begins to growl. She glances at her tummy and frowns. "Don't you start that again," she says and runs a hand up under her pink form-fit tank top subconsciously, then pats her stomach. Atilea resumes reading and begins to play with her belly button. Atilea had originally wanted to be outside trying to clean up all the vines and trim all the overgrown hedges around the Hermitage, but due to the heavy rain earlier in the week, the ground was still muddy and dotted with large puddles of rainwater. But now, all she did was read in her books, not that she minded. The ancient civilizations here in the real world were fascinating to read about. She especially liked the Ancient Egyptians and their pyramids.

Then, Atilea begins to notice that her inactivity is catching up with her, evidenced by a large yawn. She shakes her head, trying to fight off the sleepiness that is threatening to overtake her, then resumes reading. However, the sleepiness Atilea tried to fight off wins. The book she held falls gently on her stomach and her head rolls slightly to the right. Atilea didn't know how long she dozed off for, but was awakened by something gently pressing against her shoulder. She opens her eyes sleepily and sees Aelita come into focus. A smile forms on her lips and then a yawn escapes her mouth. "Morning, Sleepy-Head," Aelita says playfully and jiggles her shoulder again. "Morning?" mumbles Atilea and sits up. She places her bookmark in the book and closes it. "Not quite, Sis. It's just about twelve hours too late for morning," Atilea states and wipes her eyes with her hand. "What are you up to?" Aelita smiles and slides down onto the bed with her. "Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to come and see my favorite sister!" she replies innocently. Atilea pauses and looks at her and notices that she is hiding something. Atilea blinks in disbelief and asks, "Um, thanks, but, uh, what's really going on?" Aelita tries her best to look genuine and replies, "Nothing! Why?" Atilea stretches and yawns. "You're hiding something. Believe me, I know. What is it?" she replies and gives Aelita a self-assured look. Aelita presses her lips together, fighting the urge to tell. "I can't tell you. You'll just have to wait and find out. But, my job was to run interference and keep you distracted. So, make my job easy, ok? Please?" she replies and gets a guilty look on her face. Atilea looks at Aelita, wondering why she was sent to distract her. "Maybe. Just tell me, is Ulrich waiting to jump me?" Atilea asks. Aelita pauses at her question, then realizes what she is actually asking. "Um, no. I heard about your little rematch the two of you had yesterday, and from what I hear, you had enough pillows in the face to last you a while!" A look of relief washes over Atilea's face and she smiles, relieved. "Well, that's good. Who gave you the post-fight commentary? Ulrich?" Atilea asks. "Yumi did. A play-by-play of sorts. From what she said, the two of you got pretty intense and a couple of times, up close and personal," Aelita replies and raises an eyebrow. "Well, it got up close and personal only because he would cheat and grab my pillow with his hand!" Atilea states defensively. "Granted, it was never stated that doing that was illegal, but still, I call it cheating!" Aelita giggles and says, "I'm surprised that your giggling didn't get the best of you." Atilea gives her a playfully accusing glare and replies, "Well, yeah, I was able to control my giggling unlike a certain sister of mine, who shall remain nameless." She pokes Aelita in the ribs playfully, causing her to jump and squeal. Aelita covers her ribs with her arm and fights back laughter. "That was one of your tickle-spots, Sis!" Atilea says sitting up farther, then pokes Aelita in the belly. Aelita squeaks and giggles while covering up her stomach. "That was another one! I know every one of your tickle-spots, Aelita, even the one's that are a bit more private. Jeremie might be interested in knowing where those are!" Atilea playfully threatens and Aelita snaps her head up to look at her, her face beet red. "Don't you dare!" she exclaims at Atilea. A devious smile crosses Atilea's face and Aelita raises a finger at her. "Remember this, Sis, you were created to be like me, therefore, you have the same tickle-spots I have!" Aelita says defiantly. Atilea giggles and covers herself with her bed spread. "Hiding under there won't save you!" Aelita says confidently and giggles deviously. Atilea peaks over the bed spread and grins with equal deviousness. "Well, this seems to be leading us into a massive tickle-war!" she says and sees Aelita raise an eyebrow.

Then, a knock on the door catches their attention. Aelita instantly pops up from the bed and rushes over to the door. She cracks it and Atilea gets a suspicious look on her face. She slides out of the bed and sneaks up behind her sister. "No, you can't come in yet! She's, um, not decent yet!" Atilea hears Aelita whisper to who ever is on the other side of the door. She gets a shocked look on her face and glances down at herself. "Yes I am! What's going on, Aelita?" she exclaims. Aelita jumps and slams the door closed, then turns and leans against it. Her face is red and she has a big strained smile. "Nothing! Go back to bed!" Aelita replies quickly. Atilea frowns and says, "No! I want to know what's going on!" Aelita presses her lips together tightly and shakes her head. "I can't tell you! Now, get back in that bed!" she states commandingly. Atilea raises her eyebrows and replies, "No! This is my house too and I deserve to know what's going on in it!" Aelita crinkles her nose and bites her lower lip. "Not this, you don't! Now, get back in bed before I put you in it!" Atilea grows wide-eyed, then gets a defiant look on her face. "Are you threatening me, Sis?" she asks and steps closer to Aelita. "No, that's a promise! Now, go!" Aelita replies and pokes Atilea in the ribs causing her to twist away and giggle. "Don't! Stop! No tickling!" cries Atilea giggling. "Then maybe you shouldn't have tickled me first!" Aelita replies and chases Atilea back towards the bed while tickling her. Atilea bursts out laughing and bumps into the bed, then turns to see Aelita give her a gentle shove that sends her falling backwards onto the bed. Aelita instantly grabs Atilea's pillow and smacks her in the face with it. Atilea gets a challenging look on her face and sits up, but Aelita tickles her again, causing her to fall back down on the bed, laughing. Atilea curls into a ball on the bed and Aelita steps back, smiling down at her victoriously. "Stay put. I'm going to pick out some clothes for you to wear," she states and walks to the foot of the bed. Atilea stops laughing and crawls on the bed to her sister. "What's wrong with what I've got on?" she asks, peering at Aelita as she roots through the clothes. "Nothing. Stay put," comes the reply. Atilea starts to slide off the bed but Aelita looks up at her and gives her a stern stare. "Stay!" she says strictly. Atilea freezes then replies, "I'm not Kiwi! You can't command me like that!" Aelita presses her lips together, trying not to giggle, then tosses a light blue contour-fit, v-neck shirt and a pair of khaki pants that are cut above the ankles at her, hitting her in the face. "Here, put these on," Aelita says and stands. Atilea pulls the blue shirt off her face and glances at the clothes and then up at her sister curiously. "Why?" "Because I asked," Aelita replies. Atilea gives her a contrary look. "No, you didn't! You just threw them in my face and said put them on." Aelita sighs and smiles. "Please put them on, my sweet, adorable sister!" Atilea tries not to giggle, but fails. "Now you're just sucking up! Goofy!" she says and stands, setting the clothes neatly on the bed, then sighs and peels her pink tank top off and drops it on the bed. Aelita turns to the door and starts to leave, but turns to her sister and says, "Promise me you'll stay in here. I'm going to go and get… something for you." Atilea smoothes the new shirt down against her body and glances from mirror to her sister. She sighs and nods. "Fine. You win." Aelita smiles and slips out of the room. Atilea changes her pants and surveys herself in the full length mirror. "I guess this outfit is okay looking. Still, I don't know why she made me change," she mumbles to herself. Then, the sound of Aelita entering the room catches her attention. Atilea spots the plastic bag she holds and smiles curiously. "Here, I bought you some new shoes," Aelita says and sets the bag on the bed. She pulls out a shoe box from inside and opens it, revealing a new pair of white cross-trainers. Atilea smiles and walks over to her. She hugs her sister and says happily, "Thank you, Sis! You didn't have to do that!" Aelita returns the hug and smile. "No I didn't have to, but I wanted to. It's not everyday I get to buy my sister something!" she replies. Atilea sticks her lower lip out humbly and says, "You're gonna make me cry!" Aelita giggles and states, "Oh, don't do that! Try them on!" Atilea nods and gently shoves the box over to sit down on the bed. She slides the shoes on and laces them up. She stands and admires them. "Oh, they're so cute on you!" Aelita squeals gleefully. "Really? You think so?" replies Atilea. "Thank you, Aelita! I love'em!" The sister's embrace, then Aelita says, "Ok, one last touch." Atilea gives her an inquiring look as her sister reaches once again in the bag and pulls out a small box. Atilea looks at it dubiously and takes it from her hesitantly. She blinks in mild shock and asks, "Perfume?" Aelita nods and replies, "Yeah, it's my favorite. I hope you like it, like I do." Atilea opens the box and pulls out the bottle, then takes the cap off it and sniffs it. A smile creeps onto her face and she says, "I like it! Thanks!" Aelita smiles happily at her and watches as Atilea sprays her wrist and neck once. "I am curious, why are you getting me all dressed up for?" Atilea asks. Aelita sighs and replies firmly, "I told you. You're gonna have to wait and see. Can you wait…" She glances at her watch. "…for about five more minutes?" Atilea sighs and replies, "Well, you've kept me in the dark this long, I guess five more minutes isn't going to matter much. Fine, I'll play this by your rules this time!" Aelita smiles and says, "Ok, I'll come back to get you in five minutes. Try and find something to entertain yourself until then!" Atilea rubs her tongue against the inside of her cheek and replies, "I'll get my hair fixed little better while your gone." Aelita nods and smiles, then turns to leave.

Aelita bounds down the stairwell and glances around the room, seeing Yumi finish setting up the chairs around the large, make-shift table in the middle of the room. Jeremie lounges with his laptop as Ulrich and Odd sit at a smaller table with a chess board between them. Kiwi lays at his master's feet, sleeping. Yumi glances at Aelita and smiles excitedly at her. "Does she suspect anything?" she asks quietly. Aelita nods and replies, "Well, she knows something's going on, but doesn't know what. Is everything ready?" Yumi nods and says, "Pretty much. I'll wait and pour the drinks later."

"Ha, HA! Trogdor strikes again!" shouts Odd victoriously. Ulrich looks at him, annoyed. Yumi chuckles and walks over to her boyfriend and wraps her arms around his neck from behind, looking at the game. "I wish you wouldn't yell that every time you take one of my pieces! And.. and since when did you play chess this well!" Ulrich asks. Odd gives him a humble smile and replies, "Oh, well, I, uh, just asked Jeremie for a few pointers, that's all." Yumi suppresses a giggle and Ulrich gives Odd a dubious look, then glances over to Jeremie. Jeremie looks up from his laptop and shrugs. "He asked me to show him how to play, that's all! I didn't know he had any natural talent in playing the game!" he says defensively. Ulrich turns back to Odd and sees him shrug and tap his temple with a finger. "I guess I inherited my dad's great military mind!" he says humbly with a huge smile on his face. Ulrich sighs deeply and stares at the board. "This is so not fair. I think the only person I can beat now is Kiwi!" he says and frowns. "Well, I don't know about that. From the way you've been playing, Kiwi could beat you!" Odd comments, then receives a sharp glare from Ulrich. "Just finish it quickly!" he snaps through gritted teeth. "Um, it's your move, Ulrich," replies Odd. "You want my help, Sweetie?" asks Yumi, trying not to laugh. "No, if I'm gonna lose, I might as well lose by myself, and spare everyone else the indignity of it all," Ulrich replies and moves a pawn. "Ok, but you can't say that I didn't offer my help," she states and kisses his cheek. Aelita walks over and glances at the board. She watches them each make a move, then frowns. "Oh, come on, Odd. Just finish him off quickly, like he asked," Aelita says and moves Odd's King's Rook, putting Ulrich in checkmate. "It's not nice to just toy with him like that," she finishes. Yumi clasps a hand over her mouth to stop a laugh from escaping. Ulrich's jaw drops and looks up at Aelita, appalled. Odd looks up at her and silently shushes her with a finger over his lips. Ulrich closes his mouth and his gaze turns into a miffed glare. "Aren't you supposed to be keeping your sister occupied?" he asks accusingly. Aelita smiles and blushes, then replies, "Um, not anymore! It's time for me to go get her!" Ulrich frowns and watches her leave quickly to go upstairs. "Alright everybody, let's get ready to surprise her!" Yumi says excitedly and releases Ulrich.

"This is silly. I can't believe you talked me into wearing this thing!" Atilea says, with arms stretched in front of her. Aelita smiles and guides her now blindfolded sister down the hallway. "Trust me. This is the only way!" she replies and helps her sister turn a corner. "Fine. Just don't let me run into anything that has sharp corners, ok?" states Atilea. "Ok, but be careful now. The top of the stairs is right in front of you. Let me get in front of you so you can hold onto my shoulders. Take it easy going down. I don't want my only sister to fall and break her neck on the stairs!" Aelita says and squeezes past her. Atilea sighs and feels for Aelita's shoulders, then let's her lead her down the stairs. Once at the bottom, Atilea lets out a sigh of relief. "Can I take this off now? I can feel it messing my hair up!" she asks. Aelita giggles and says, "Sure, go ahead!" "Finally! I'm definitely more sympathetic towards the blind now," Atilea says and reaches up to take off the blindfold. She carefully peels it off, not wanting to muss her hair. Suddenly, once she looks up, everyone yells in chorus, "HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!" Atilea steps back in shock and her jaw drops open. The room has been decorated and a large make-shift table stands in the middle of the room with party plates and napkins. She glances around the room, speechless, and sees everyone smiling and clapping. "I… I… uh, don't know what to say…" she says finally. "But, anniversary? What kind? I'm sorry, I guess I just don't know…" Aelita wraps an arm around her and replies, "Today marks the one week anniversary of when we first met!" Atilea turns to her sister and smiles, fighting back the tears of joy, then embraces her sister. "Oh, thank you! Thank you very much!" she says. "But, um, you do realize that the first time we met, I wasn't exactly the nicest person?" Aelita giggles and pulls back to look at Atilea. "Yeah, I do, but, um, we did meet a week ago today nevertheless," she states. Atilea feels a tear roll down her cheek and promptly wipes it away, then turns to look at the rest of the group. "Thank you, guys! I appreciate it!" she says and sees a bit of movement behind Odd. Then, Kiwi pokes his head around his master's leg and yips. Atilea gets wide-eyed. "Kiwi? What's he doing here?" she asks. Odd gets an innocent grin on his face. "Um, he needed walked," he replies. Yumi walks up to Atilea and hugs her. "Thank you, Yumi! I did not expect anything like this! Whose idea was this?" Yumi giggles and replies, "You probably can guess. It was Aelita's idea." Aelita turns and looks at her blushing sister. "You didn't have to do this!" she says and Yumi steps back a step. "I'll be back!" she says and leaves to go into the kitchen. "I can't believe you kept this from me!" Atilea says to Aelita. Aelita smiles and replies, "Well, that's why they call them surprise parties! Surprise!" Atilea smiles and hugs her again. "Big goof-ball. Thank you!" she says happily. Yumi returns, carrying a large white box and sets it on the table. Odd's eyes widen as he anticipates seeing what is in the box. Yumi glances over at him. "Odd, no!" she says sternly. He gets an innocent look on his face. "What? I didn't do anything!" he says defensively. "You had that look in your eye!" Yumi replies firmly and motions for him to step away. "But… but… I always have this look!" he stammers. "Yes, I know that, Odd. And I know what usually follows that look! So… no!" Yumi says and shoos him away again. "But I…." Odd starts but get interrupted by Ulrich. "Odd, just leave it. There's no point in arguing with her," he says. Yumi turns and smiles at Ulrich. "Well, I'm glad you've learned that little lesson before we get married, Ulrich! You're pretty much already prepared once you get that down!" she says giggling. Ulrich's face goes blank and blinks, no knowing how to respond. A few chuckles sound and then Ulrich finally replies, "Maybe, but remember, I do know where you are ticklish at, Yumi!" Yumi's eyes widen and she shakes her head. "Don't you even go there, Ulrich," she warns and sees him smile defiantly at her. Yumi turns to Atilea and motions her to come over to her. Atilea walks over as Yumi opens the box and reveals a cake inside decorated with the words "To A Special Friend From Your Friends" in red icing on top of a layer of white icing. Atilea glances up at Yumi and smiles happily. Yumi returns the smile and hands her a knife and a cake spatula. "You get to cut the first piece!" she says and gets one of the party plates for her. Atilea smiles nervously and cuts a neat square from the lower right corner, then places it gently on the plate. "Ok, your job it done, Sis. Now go and enjoy!" Aelita says and takes the knife and spatula from her. Atilea looks a bit bewildered as Yumi hands her the piece of cake she just cut. "Ok, sure," Atilea replies and turns to find a seat.

Forty-five minutes later, the group sits in a circle, laughing and joking together. Aelita and Atilea giggles almost constantly as Jeremie watches his girlfriend enjoy herself. Odd shovels another bite of his fourth piece of the vanilla and chocolate swirl cake into his mouth. Ulrich and Yumi tease him about going behind Samantha's back and gorging himself. Kiwi, despite the noise in the room, settles at his master's feet and falls asleep. Atilea looks up and notices a pink box on the couch behind them. "Hey, isn't that the box I gave to you? Well, actually, Yumi went and got for me after I saw it in a memory flashback," she says and Aelita turns to glance at it. "Yes, it is. I…. wanted to open it with you and show you what is inside later tonight, after everyone had left. No offense to you guys," Aelita replies and the others nod in understanding. "No problem, Aelita," says Ulrich. Aelita looks over at Jeremie and gives him a puppy-dog look. "You're not upset are you, Baby?" she asks sweetly. He smiles and shakes his head. "No. Whatever is in that box is your business. I can understand why you'd share it with your sister before me," he replies and pats her thigh. Aelita smiles at his reply and winks at him.

Atilea then stands and takes a nervous breath. "I want to thank you guys for all this again. I just don't have the words to fully express how mush this means to me. You guys are…." She pauses for a moment to get her emotions under control. "…You are the best family I could have ever asked for. I don't think I could ever pick such a great group of friends if I had all the time in the world. I…" Her sentence gets cut off by a beeping from Jeremie's laptop. The room grows silent, except for the beeping and Atilea feels her heart sink. Jeremie frowns nervously and walks over to the couch where he sat it down. He closes his eyes and exhales deeply, then opens the lid. He opens his eyes and a look of despondency covers his face. Ulrich sighs and stands. "I don't have to ask what that means. I know already. Yumi?" he says somberly. She hangs her head and sniffs, then takes his hand. Odd stands and disturbs Kiwi. He looks down at his faithful puppy and smiles weakly. Kiwi looks up at his master and cocks his head slightly to one side. "You're a good puppy, Kiwi. I want you to stay here and be a good dog, ok?" Odd says and kneels down to pet him. Kiwi seemingly picks up on the seriousness in his master's voice and gently nuzzles Odd's hand, then sits down obediently. Jeremie feels Aelita slide a hand across his shoulders and hugs him gently. He closes the laptop and glances at her. He sees in her eyes a pain that she is holding back. The two stand and turns to the rest of the group.

Atilea stands in the middle of the room with tears running down her cheeks. She clenches her fists and hangs her head. Why? Why now? It wasn't fair! Why did it have to be when her and her friends were having such a good time? It wasn't fair at all! Then, a hand gently touches her shoulder and she looks up to see Aelita in front of her, smiling weakly. "It's time, Atilea. Let's go," her sister says quietly. Then a feeling of desperation and exasperation floods her. "Please, please tell me we are all coming back…" Atilea says almost despairingly. The room remains silent for what seems like forever before Ulrich answers her.

"There is no guarantee, Atilea. All I can promise is that all of us will do our very best to get the job done."

But his answer didn't give her the comfort she thought it would. "I don't want anyone else to die…." she whispers desperately.

"Neither do we, Atilea," he replies and lays a hand gently on her other shoulder.

Atilea instinctively reaches back and grabs hold of his hand. "Promise me that none of you will die," she states, almost demandingly.

Ulrich glances at Yumi, over to Aelita, then to Odd and Jeremie, then finally resting his gaze back on Atilea. "I wish I could, but I can't. There has always been that risk of not coming back ever since we first stepped into that factory. But, if laying down my life is what it takes for the rest of the world to live in peace, then so be it. I am prepared to do that."

Atilea finds his words hard to hear, but knows that he is confident in them. She nods and turns to him. A strangely calming smile rests on his face and Atilea feels her confidence rise in her.

"We don't have much time. Let's go," Jeremie states melancholic. He takes Aelita's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. She turns and nods, returning the squeeze. Then, the group heads quietly to the basement.

Once at the factory, Jeremie sits quietly at the computer monitor, waiting for the elevator to take the rest of the group to the scanner room. Then, the doors open and the group exit the elevator, silent. Ulrich and Yumi exchange glances and smiles at each other slightly. "See you on the other side, Babe," he whispers to her. Yumi winks and whispers back, "You better believe it, Baby." Atilea watches them and hugs her arms. Odd turns to Ulrich and gives him a thumbs up. Ulrich smiles at him and returns the thumbs up. Aelita closes her eyes and concentrates, trying to control her emotions and to focus on the task at hand. Atilea glances at her and wants to go over and hug her, but doesn't want to interrupt her sister. Then, the three scanner pod doors open, startling her.

"Ok, Ulrich, Yumi, and Atilea, you're up first," comes Jeremie's voice over the p.a. system. "Odd, Aelita, you're after them."

Ulrich and Yumi nod and step into the scanners. Atilea glances at herself and then at Ulrich. She hesitantly steps into the scanner. The doors close on her and she closes her eyes, secretly wishing she could just runaway and not have to face the prospect of….

Her thoughts are interrupted by the sensation of falling and she instantly opens them in time to prevent herself from landing badly. Atilea looks up to see Ulrich and Yumi standing up with their back to her. Yumi turns and glances at her as she stands, smoothing her Lyokan shirt down. "We're all here, Jeremie," Yumi states and turns back around. Atilea glances around and sees that they are in the ice sector. She steps towards Yumi and Ulrich, glancing between them. She sees that Ulrich has a serious and intense look on his face. Yumi fidgets with one of her fans. Then, the sound of Odd and Aelita phasing in behind her catches her attention. Atilea and Yumi turn to see Odd and Aelita stand. "Ok, we're here, Jeremie. That's all of us. Unless you'd like to join us!" Odd quips, trying to lighten the mood. Jeremie frowns and replies, "No thank you. I've already done my tour of duty on Lyoko, and one was more than enough!" Odd shrugs and says, "Suit yourself. I guess we'll have all the real fun!" Atilea looks at him and says, "I'm glad you can be lighthearted in any situation, Odd. Me, I'm almost a nervous wreck!" He smiles and states confidently, "Well, the way I see it, we're the good guys, and the good guys always win!" Odd's quirkiness makes her giggle slightly and she notes that his goofiness has begun to relieve her of some of the worry and nervousness she felt before.

"Ok, where is he, Jeremie?" Ulrich asks, drawing her attention to him. Jeremie looks curiously at the screen. "Um, well, he's still in his 'tomb', as it is aptly named. I designed the program to detect any breaches in the outermost layer of the tomb. It seems as though a crack has formed in it," he replies. "But, um, it's only a couple of inches long and is much more like a hairline fracture rather than a big break. At least, that is how it is right now. Who knows how long it will remain that small." Ulrich's left eyebrow flicks up quickly and he grunts in thought. "Look, why don't you and Atilea go and check it out. Odd, Yumi, and Aelita will hang back and watch your backs," Jeremie states. "And furthermore, I've made sure that the materialization program won't give us any trouble this time! If anything happens, I'll be able to bring you home safely."

Atilea glances around at her friends. "That, um, does include me, right?" she asks nervously. "Of course. Why couldn't it?" Jeremie replies, taken slightly aback by her question. "It's nothing towards you, Jeremie. I just need a lot of self-reassurance right now. Thanks," she says. Aelita steps over to her and wraps a comforting arm around her waist. "Besides, Aelita would kill me if I let anything happen to you!" Jeremie comments and Aelita smiles deviously. Atilea chuckles and feels more relaxed. Ulrich turns to her and half-smiles. "You ready?" he asks. Atilea nods and joins him. Then, Ulrich turns to Yumi and instructs, "Stay back far enough so you won't be spotted if anything should happen, but close enough in case things turn really ugly." Yumi nods, then leans into him, planting a kiss on his lips. "Be careful," she says after withdrawing. He smiles and nods. "You don't have to tell me that, Dear. Odd, maybe, but not me!" His comment causes her to giggle and the two kiss once again, then he and Atilea take off across the landscape.

"Yumi, I'll have the vehicles waiting in standby for you if you end up needing them," Jeremie informs. "Thanks, Jeremie. I have a feeling we may need them," she replies. Aelita fidgets nervously as Yumi turns to look at her and Odd. "You ok?" Yumi asks her. Aelita looks up at her and Yumi can see concern in her eyes. "Promise me you two won't let anything happen to my sister," Aelita says, trying to cover up her despair. Yumi looks at her, first in shock, then in compassion. "Hey, we're a team, right? We always take care of our own!" Odd pipes up cheerfully. Aelita smiles at him, feeling mildly better. "You think something's gonna happen to her, don't you?" Yumi asks finally. Aelita's smile disappears and is replaced by a saddened frown. "Not necessarily her, but I just can't shake the feeling that something really terrible is going to happen," she replies. "Oh, come on, ladies, relax a bit, will ya?" Odd interjects. "All this could turn out be is just a checkup mission. If it turns out that this Thadeo character isn't anywhere close to busting out, then we'll just go home for another day or so. Stop being so gloom and doom. That'll give you an ulcer." Yumi and Aelita exchange blank glances with each other, not knowing how to respond to Odd's statements. "Besides, we need to go. Ulrich and Atilea needs us to watch their back," Odd finishes. Yumi sighs and nods.

Ulrich peers over the edge of the cliff and sees the huge dome still standing. Atilea gently leans against the right side of his back and peers over at it also. "Looks exactly the same way it did when we left it here," she whispers. "Yeah, except that there is a fracture in it somewhere. I don't feel comfortable climbing down the cliff this close to the dome. We should circle around to the far side and go down there," Ulrich says motioning to the opposite side of the ravine. Atilea nods and says, "Good idea. That way, if one of us falls and makes a loud noise, there'll be less of a chance that Thadeo could hear us. Though, I'm not really sure how well he can hear through all that." Ulrich turns his head and almost bumps her head, due to the fact she is so close to him. "Me either. Then there's the other way he uses to track us. Not sure exactly what it is, but I'm sure all that rock and ice puts a big damper on it. Let's go," he whispers, then backs up, but instantly collides with her. "Oh, sorry. I shouldn't have been that close to you," Atilea apologies quickly. "It's ok, but I have noticed that you have been really close to me as we traveled here. Is something wrong?" he asks. Atilea flushes and begins to avoid looking him in the eyes. "I, uh, just….just, um wanted to be close by. You know, in case you needed me, er, my help," she replies. Ulrich frowns at her and she feels a sharp pang of guilt. "Atilea," he starts, then let's out a heavy sigh. "Please don't lie to me. For one, you're terrible at it. Furthermore, I can see in your eyes the truth of why you've been following me so close," he finishes. Atilea steps away quickly and replies, "I'm sorry, I… I…. don't know why I do the things I know are wrong. But, I do have a bad feeling, like something horrible is going to happen." Ulrich surveys her and sees her lower lip tremble. "I believe you when you say that. Atilea, you don't have to lie to me, ok? Just tell me the truth," he says with a bit of firmness. Atilea nods and replies, "I know, but I just seemingly can't control my feelings… towards…."

Her sentence gets cutoff by a sudden tremor in the ground that causes the two to instantly turn and look at the dome. Then, after a couple of seconds, the tremor stops. "Jeremie, what was that?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie sits up at attention and stares at the readings on the monitors. "Uh, not sure yet. Hang on for a second," Jeremie replies and starts a scan. "Felt like that came from all directions," Atilea notes and looks hard at the dome, trying to see if there is any damage to it. "You think Thadeo did that?" she asks Ulrich. He narrows his eyes and shrugs. "Not sure. Only way I could think he'd cause that is if he were tunneling his way out through the ground as opposed to going through the dome," he replies. "We gotta get down there now and check out the dome. No time to circle around now if that was him." Atilea nods and asks, "You want me to go first?" Ulrich glances at her then shakes his head. "No, I'll go first. You stay here and let Yumi and the others know what happened if they don't all ready. Then, you come down and let them stay up here to watch our back, ok?" he replies. Atilea nods and watches as Ulrich begins his decent.

Once Ulrich reaches the bottom, he begins to inspect the dome. "Jeremie, where's that fracture at?" he asks quietly. "It's half way around to the other side, about three feet up from the bottom. Apparently, that bit of seismic activity didn't bother it too much because it didn't grow any at all," Jeremie replies. "I'm still not sure where the epicenter of that tremor is, so be careful. If Thadeo did cause it, he could be closer to escaping than we thought originally." Ulrich nods and walks carefully around the dome until he reaches where the fracture is. He examines it and frowns. "Not much to it, is there?" he says. "No, not really. It seems to be a surface crack only. It isn't deep at all," Jeremie states. "What could have caused it?" Ulrich asks. "I don't know. It doesn't display the typical spider webbing effect of an impact. It's almost as if the rock was heated until the crack formed," Jeremie says rubbing his temple. Then, Atilea walks around the dome to him and smiles weakly at him. He glances up at her and returns her smile. "A heat fracture. There's nothing in Lyoko to cause that. And it's sitting in the middle of a huge glacier. How much weirder can this get?" Ulrich muses and reaches out to touch the surface of the dome. Then, he stops as he feels heat radiating from the dome. "What the…?" Atilea notices the perplexed look on his face and kneels down next to him. "Hold your hand out over the dome like this and tell me if you can feel the heat rising off the dome," he says to her. Atilea gives him a perplexed look, then stretches her hand out. A look of shock crosses her face. "No way…" she says in awe. Then, Ulrich turns and looks at the ground around him. "Jeremie, quickly, give me the temperature reading of the dome!" he says, with a bit of franticness in his voice. Jeremie raises an eyebrow at his request, but obliges. "Whoa, what's going on here?" Jeremie says as the result pops up on the screen. "Ulrich, the surface temperature is reading 51.6ºC / 125ºF, but the core temperature is upwards of 146.11ºC / 295ºF! I think Thadeo is trying to melt his way out!" he states. Ulrich grows wide-eyed and an epiphany hits him. "The ice… that's it!" he mutters. Atilea turns and gives him a curious look. "What? What's it, Ulrich?" she asks. He turns to her and says, "You don't see it? The hot exterior of the dome is affecting the ice!" Then, the light clicks on in her head. "Of course! The ice breaking apart and then colliding back together is causing the tremors!" she exclaims. "No wonder it felt as if the tremors were coming from all over!" "Is that even supposed to be possible?" Ulrich asks. Atilea shrugs and replies, "Why not? I can freeze the water into ice." She raises her hand and siphons a small amount of water from the nearby sea. Then, she brings it between her and Ulrich and freezes it. Ulrich glances at it, but overlooks the shape she formed it into. "I don't see a reason why it can't go the other way as well," Atilea finishes. Ulrich looks off to the side in thought. "But on such a grand scale? I would have thought Dr. Hopper would have built in some sort of restrictions on that sort of thing," he states. "Well, apparently not since it's happening. We need to get out of this sector," Atilea states and holds her small ice sculpture carefully. Ulrich glances at it again and raises an eyebrow. "A dandelion?" he asks. Atilea shrugs and smiles. "I can't just make a random ice ball. Sorry. But this proves my point. Here," she replies and hands him the ice dandelion. He takes it hesitantly and she reaches out and gently touches it with her finger. The ice dandelion instantly reverts back to water and splashes over his hand and onto the ground. "See?" she says. Ulrich glances at his wet hand and then up at Atilea. Then, he reaches up and wipes his hand on her cheek, catching her by surprise. Her jaw drops and gets a shocked look on her face. "Oh, you just did not…" she starts. "Later. We have to inform the others of this disturbing discovery," Ulrich says, cutting her off and walks past her.

After hearing the news from Ulrich and Atilea, Odd asks, "So, what's his plan? Destroy the entire sector just to free himself? That doesn't make much sense. There'd be nothing left for him to be on." "Thadeo seemingly has the ability to move between sectors without having to use the passage towers. All he'd have to do is just shift himself from this sector to another once he's free," replies Ulrich. "So we let him destroy the sector and face him on another?" Yumi asks. "Yeah, basically," Ulrich states simply. "But this sector would be, well, ruined!" argues Yumi. "Lyoko's been in worse shape that, Dear. Remember the whole 'running out of power' bit when X.A.N.A. took over a criminal to steal a nuclear battery for the computer?" Ulrich points out. Yumi mulls over his answer and concedes. "Besides, I'm sure Jeremie has the means of restoring the sector," Ulrich finishes. "Wow!" Odd chirps. The group turns to look at him. "You, like, actually won an argument… with Yumi!" Odd states in mild amazement. Ulrich and Yumi give him a slightly appalled look. "Out of all that I have said, that is the thing that amazes you the most?" Ulrich asks. An innocent look forms on Odd's face and he replies, "Well, yeah." Ulrich's expression goes blank and he says, "I have no idea how to respond to that." "Well, I know for one thing, we need to get out of this sector before Thadeo destroys it," states Atilea. "She's right. Jeremie, where's the nearest passage tower?" asks Ulrich. "Not too far. Due north," replies Jeremie. "Right, let's go, every—Hey, where'd Aelita go?" Ulrich asks, noticing Aelita is no longer with them.

Aelita finds herself standing just inside the cave where she was held captive in. She begins to tremble as flashbacks of what happened flood her mind. _I have to do this. I have to face… what he did, _she thinks to herself. Aelita walks in and glances around the cave room. Then, she walks over to the spot where she was… trapped against the wall with nowhere to go. Well, not really trapped. More like, frozen with fear. Then, a voice rings throughout the cave.

"Aelita?"

Aelita realizes that her sister has found her, but remains silent. Instead, she kneels down on the spot.

"Sis? Are you alright? We were worried about you. You shouldn't have up and disappeared like that."

Aelita closes her eyes and hears her sister walk up behind her. Still, she does not answer.

Atilea looks at her sister in compassion and realizes why she is here. "Aelita, I know why you're here, but we don't have that much time. We have to leave now," she says, kneeling down next to Aelita and wraps an arm around her, suddenly feeling very protective of her sister. "And believe me when I say this, I will make sure he pays for anything that he did to you." Aelita shakes her head. "It's not you burden to bare, Atilea," she says and sniffs. Atilea presses her lips together and pauses for a second. "I don't care. You're MY sister and I'm not going to let anyone mistreat you! Besides, aren't we supposed to help each other in times of trouble? Let me answer that for you: Yes! You're my sister and I love you and I want to help you through this. Please don't push me away," Atilea says. Aelita hangs her head and sobs. Yumi enters the cave and sees the two holding each other. "We have to go now! I'm sorry, but the heat from the dome is growing and causing the glacier to break up more dramatically now," she states, feeling bad that she interrupted them. "Just give us a second longer, please, Yumi," replies Atilea. Yumi sighs and replies, "Sure. But don't take too long." Then, she turns and exits the cave. Ulrich looks at Yumi as she exits the cave. "I take it that they are in there?" he asks. She nods and crosses her arms, with a sad look on her face. Ulrich notices his girlfriend's demeanor and asks, "What's wrong, Yumi?" She sighs and walks over to him. He wraps his arms around her, letting her simply lean against him and not press her for an explanation. Then, the two pink haired sisters exit the cave, both with a determined and confident smile on their faces. "Feeling better you two?" he asks half-smiling. The sisters smile and nod. "Good. Then we can—"

A sudden explosion from the dome cuts Ulrich off and sends the group flying from the shockwave. Ulrich manages to position his body so that Yumi lands on top of him instead of the hard icy ground. The group crashes to the ground and Ulrich opens his eyes, seeing Yumi's scared face nose to nose with his. "Yumi, are you—" he starts, but gasps when the sky above them is filled with debris. He grabs a hold of her firmly and rolls over on top of her. She grunts from the sudden switch, then gasps as she realizes what he is doing. "Ulrich, no!" she blurts out, but it was too late. Ulrich yells in pain as several pieces of debris strike his back sharply. Odd holds his shield up over is head, trying to protect himself from the falling debris, but he begins to feel it tax his energy. Suddenly, a dome forms over the group and Odd glances up to see Atilea standing over Aelita, with hands raised. He drops his shield and stands, amazed. Then, he hears Yumi call out to Ulrich. "Ulrich! Ulrich! Answer me, please!" she begs and gently shakes him. He finally stirs and groans. "Oh, Baby! Why? Why did you do that?" she exclaims frantically. Ulrich lifts his head slightly and gives her a small smile, then kisses her nose. "Just… wanted t… to protect you," he replies and grunts in pain. She looks up into his eyes and smiles, then wraps her arms around him and pulls him back down to her as she plants a kiss on him lips. "A-hem!" comes a voice. The two look over and see Atilea and Odd looking at them side-long. The two blush and Ulrich painfully rolls off Yumi. "Oh, geez, that hurt!" he states and Yumi sits up. "Thank you, sweetie," she whispers, but feels as if that isn't enough to truly thank him. He smiles and nods, then stands painfully. Then, he reaches down and helps her stand.

Atilea drops the dome after the last of the debris stops falling. A cloud of smoke and thick water vapor hangs where the dome once stood. Then, an angry yell resonates across the area. "Oh, crap. He's free…" Ulrich states. The smoke and vapor clears, revealing an enraged Thadeo standing in the midst of the remains of the dome, his eyes glowing an angry red. Odd stares in awe at him, no knowing what to think. "Ok, I think it's safe to say he's very, very teed off!" he whispers. "Dang, he's also uglier than what you guys described him as!" "Quiet, Odd!" Atilea chides quietly and elbows him in the ribs. "He'll hear you!" Odd clamps his mouth shut and watches Thadeo intensely.

"You are here! We know you are! We can see you! You. Will. All. DIE!" bellows Thadeo, causing the group to gasp. Thadeo closes his eyes and concentrates. Suddenly, he opens then, sending a fiery red beam outward towards them. Atilea instantly raises a section of ice in front of them as the rest dive to the ground. The beam strikes the ice and blows it into tiny pieces. Atilea freezes in shock, then feels a pair of hands pull her to the ground as the remainder of the beam passes on over them. Atilea gasps as Thadeo suddenly appears above them in the air. "Oh, geez, MOVE!" she yells and grabs her sister's arm. Thadeo slams into the ground feet first just as the group scatters in the nick of time. Thadeo's impact creates a crater and several large cracks in the ice travel outward from the crater. Thadeo looks up and glances around to each of the group members. Ulrich and Yumi draw their weapons as Odd and Atilea turn to protect Aelita. Odd cocks his laser arrow launcher as Atilea creates a long, sharp pole in the air, ready to throw it at Thadeo, should he charge them. Aelita sits on the ground trembling in fear.

"Ok, on three, we all hit him at the same time," states Ulrich. His friends nod in acknowledgement. Thadeo smirks and grunts in defiance. "You can try, but we have extensive technical knowledge of techniques and how to counter them. We can stop you even if you attack at the same time!" pipes up Thadeo confidently. "You have to be bluffing! All you're doing is trying to stall us just to give yourself time to recuperate from exploding out of the dome and that eye-beam thingy!" returns Ulrich sharply. Thadeo grunts in anger and narrows his eyes. "Ok, ready guys?" Ulrich continues. "THREE!" he yells and Thadeo instantly crosses his arms in front of himself. Simultaneously, Yumi throws her fans as Odd fires several laser arrows while Atilea launches the sharp pole at Thadeo. Ulrich super-sprints towards Thadeo, his katana raised and ready to strike. Thadeo prepares to grab Ulrich and throw him into the line of the pole, but Ulrich suddenly dives and rolls up behind him. Thadeo turns his head just as Ulrich stabs his katana into his back. Thadeo yelps and flinches, allowing Yumi's fans and Odd's laser arrows to find their target. Ulrich yanks his katana out of Thadeo's back and super-sprints away just as Atilea's sharp pole collides with Thadeo's side. The force of the collision sends him flying sideways and into the cliff face. Ulrich sprints around to Odd and Atilea. "Great job! Let's pour it on'em!" he appraises and sprints towards Yumi. Atilea smiles in his direction and raises her arms out to each side. "Odd, you might want to get Aelita and get the to of you away. You know, for your own protection and all," she says and turns her gaze to a slightly disorientated Thadeo climbing out of the debris. Odd nods and grabs Aelita. She squeals in surprise and sees that Odd is carrying her. "Odd?" she asks. "Sorry, Princess. Request of your sister! Looks as if she's got something special in mind for Thadeo!" Odd replies and glances back to see Atilea begin to pull up chunks of ice from the ground. Then she begins to break them apart into smaller pieces. Ulrich and Yumi watches her in interest as she begins to spin the now razor sharp shards of ice around her body. "Whoa, cool!" Ulrich says and a smile creeps onto his face. "Can you do that?" he asks Yumi. Yumi turns to him and shakes her head. "No… I can't. Why?" she replies skeptically. "Um, no reason. Just thought I'd ask. Be great if the both of you could do that. Really would help out a lot," he answers. She frowns and states, "Well, sorry, but I'm not as powerful as her." Ulrich looks at her, unable to tell if she is upset at his comment or not. "I didn't mean to compare you to her like that, Yumi," he says. Yumi sighs and nods. "I know. Sorry if I sounded mad. I'm just nervous, that's all," she replies.

Thadeo regards Atilea's technique with mind fascination. "What do you hope to accomplish with that?" he asks with a notable amount of condescendence in his voice. Atilea smiles defiantly at him and replies, "Just watch…" She reaches her left hand behind her and her right hand in front of her, then in one swift motion, she reverses the places of her hands. The spinning cloud of ice shards sudden rotates around her and flies towards Thadeo. Thadeo's eyes widen as the thousands of razor sharp shards flies towards him. Atilea smiles victoriously as Thadeo foolishly raises his arms in front of his face to block the shards. Then, the first of the shards collides with him and Thadeo yelps as they dig into his skin. Then the rest of the shards begin to pound at his arms and he fights to keep them up. Yumi and Ulrich glance at each other, knowing what the other is thinking. Then, the couple takes off towards Thadeo. "Keep those things coming!" Ulrich bellows at Atilea. She nods and turns to Odd. "I need you to bust up some ice for me! Get Aelita to help you!" she instructs and Odd nods in agreement. Thadeo buries his head behind his arms farther, oblivious to Ulrich appearing behind him. Suddenly, the pain of Ulrich's katana once again piercing his back hits him, causing him to raise his head above his protection. Then, one of Yumi's fans smacks into the side of his head. Ulrich jerks his katana out of Thadeo and dodges a few wayward shards as he scoops Yumi up into his arms. He sprints the two of them around to Atilea and Odd, then gently sets Yumi back on the ground. "I wish you'd warn me before you scoop me up like that. One of these days, you're gonna give me a heart attack!" she jokes. He smiles and says nothing, then turns to see Thadeo fall backwards. Atilea nods to Odd and he stops shooting a large ice chunk near him. Atilea drops her hands and starts panting. "Wonder how much damage that did?" she asks and tries to catch her breath.

"You took away fifty of his life points," replies Jeremie. "He now has 650 left." Odd gets wide-eyed and looks over at Atilea, impressed. "Wow! She did all that with just one attack?" he exclaims. "Um, no, not really. Sorry, Odd. It appears Thadeo sacrificed 300 of his life points just to get out of that tomb he was sealed in," states Jeremie. "Uh, no offense, Atilea. Your attack was impressive, nonetheless," he continues. Atilea smiles and straightens up. "Thanks, Jeremie," she replies. Then, a pained grunt from Thadeo catches their attention. They see him straighten up painfully with numerous shards protruding from his body. He groans and closes his eyes to concentrate. Then, in a sudden burst of energy, the ice shards disintegrate and the tears in his fighting _gi_ instantly repair themselves. "Whoa, ok, that wasn't cool!" Odd exclaims in awe at this new technique. "Hmm, he sacrificed another 50 life points to expel all those shards. Interesting," Jeremie states, rubbing his chin in thought. "That may be, but he still has enough strength and power to take us out!" says Ulrich. "Anymore neat little tricks hidden up your sleeves, Atilea?" he asks her. Atilea tilts her head slightly in thought, but doesn't have any time to really formulate anything before the sound of Thadeo charging them catches their attention. Ulrich scoops up Yumi and Atilea and sprints out of the way as Odd scoops up Aelita to get her out of an enraged Thadeo. Thadeo skids to a stop and turns towards Ulrich and his group. Yumi glances back to see Thadeo gaining on them. "Ulrich! He's getting closer!" she yells and Ulrich narrows his eyes in concentration, trying to make his body move faster. He veers towards the cliff wall as an idea pops into his head. "Just like when Dod chased me!" he whispers with a sly smile on his lips. Atilea sees the cliff wall drawing nearer to them and gets a worried look on her face, not knowing what he is up to. Similarly, Yumi buries her head in his neck, not wanting to see when they run into the cliff face. Ulrich glances back and sees Thadeo closing in. Suddenly, Ulrich leaps up and runs straight up the wall, Atilea gasps and looks down to see a very surprised Thadeo slam headlong into the cliff wall. Ulrich continues to the top of the cliff and finally stops. He gently releases Yumi and Atilea, then turns to look down the cliff. Thadeo lifts his head painfully off the ground where he had fallen backwards. Then, Odd and a rather sullen Aelita joins them, riding the Overboard. "Hey, great job, Ulrich! I wouldn't have thought he would ever fall for that one!" Odd praises and lands. Atilea notices her sister's behavior and starts to ask her what is wrong, but a grunt from Ulrich catches her attention. "We need a place to hide and formulate a plan of attack. This 'flying by the seat of our pants' type of attack isn't gong to work for very much longer!" he says. Yumi nods in agreement. "Jeremie, we need our vehicles!" she states and Jeremie touches a key on the keyboard. Ulrich watches his Overbike materialize next to him. Yumi steps onto her Overwing as it finishes materializing. Aelita reluctantly steps back onto the Overboard with Odd and Atilea glances between Yumi and Ulrich nervously, wanting to ride with Ulrich but not wanting to make Yumi think bad of her. "Well, pick one, Atilea! We need to go!" Ulrich states with a bit of hurriedness in his voice. She sighs and climbs on with Yumi. Then, the group takes to the air.

Thadeo stands and rubs his head. He grimaces as the memory of Ulrich tricking him into running into the cliff wall runs through his mind. "Ulrich will not fool us into doing something like that again," he murmurs and glances up at the top of the cliff. "Where are they? We cannot sense their… hmm, they are no longer in this sector. So, they wish to play hide and seek with us? Very well, we will play this game, but they will lose!" Thadeo states and leaps to the top of the cliff.

Meanwhile, in a cave somewhere in the desert sector, the five friends sit together, trying to think of a feasible plan. "Geez, I'm glad there isn't true weather on Lyoko! I mean, we went from on extreme to another! From an ice filled wasteland to a hot, barren desert! Had there been weather here, my body would be taking a beating!" Odd says. "Well, fortunately, temperature shock wasn't programmed into Lyoko," replies Yumi. "Or, we'd have to listen to you whine and complain about it!" "Odd, focus, please," Ulrich says and Odd gives him a sheepish grin, then nods. "We need a plan before Thadeo finds us. Jeremie? Aelita? Atilea? Yumi? Anyone? Just to let you know, I have nothing!" Ulrich says. "Sorry, Ulrich, I don't have anything," replies Jeremie sorrowfully. Yumi just shakes her head and grips her boyfriends hand tightly. Aelita just sits silent, staring at the ground. Atilea presses her lips together and lets out a heavy sigh as her heart begins to race, knowing that there is only one technique she hasn't done yet. She closes her eyes and fights back tears as she turns her body away from everyone. Ulrich sees her turn and gives her a curious look. "Atilea?" he asks. He hears her inhale and exhale heavily. Aelita slowly turns to look at her sister and gets a worried look on her face.

"There…. there…. is one last technique I have…. that will definitely take out Thadeo…" Atilea states with notable pained realization in her voice. "Only I was given this….. None of the other twins had it, only me. It is a… kind of finishing move."

By now, everyone was listening intently. Only Aelita and Ulrich saw that there was something wrong.

"I have the ability to gather energy equal to double that of my life points, then release it in a… big bang of sorts," she continues, now with sadness mixed in with the other emotions. Ulrich narrows his eyes slightly as he listens. Yumi then realizes that Atilea is not wanting to share this. "Wow! That sounds pretty cool!" pipes up Odd, oblivious to the heavy atmosphere that has taken hold of the cave. "That would like do, what, 600 points worth of damage?" Then he notices that the others aren't as enthusiastic about as he is. "Why, uh, haven't you mentioned this before, and um, why…. aren't you guys… happy?" Atilea closes her eyes tighter and tries to get her words to come out of her mouth.

"This…. This…isn't just a finishing technique, is it?" Ulrich asks quietly. Atilea shakes her head. Aelita feels her heart sudden sink to her stomach.

"It's…. a self-sacrificing move," Atilea manages to say finally. The cave room falls silent as everyone absorbs the news. Atilea doesn't turn to look at them but knows that all their eyes on her. She bends her legs and hugs her knees.

"NO!" shouts Aelita. "That is not an option!"

The group turns to look at her, surprised by her outburst. "Aelita…" starts Yumi but she shakes her head frantically, not wanting to hear what Yumi has to say.

"There HAS to be another way! There HAS to be!" Aelita exclaims. Atilea presses her lips together tightly and looks at her sorrowfully. "Sis….please," she says. Aelita looks directly into Atilea's eyes and replies, "You promised! YOU PROMISED ME! You can't break it!" Atilea frowns and states, "No, I didn't promise anything. I just said I wouldn't scare you ever again by almost dying." Aelita stares back at her, unable to say anything further. "Furthermore, there isn't any other option left," continues Atilea. "No! There has to be another way!" bellows Aelita as her eyes begin to fill up with tears. Atilea glances around the room at the others. "Believe me, if there was another way, I'd gladly do it, but…" Atilea starts but gets cut off by another outburst by Aelita. "NO! STOP IT!" she explodes. "Aelita, please," says Yumi, trying to get her to calm down. Yumi slides over to her and she falls into Yumi's arms, mumbling over and over something about not wanting to be an orphan again. Atilea feels her own tears trail down her cheeks as she watches her sister cry in Yumi's arms.

"Sis…." Atilea manages to get out. Aelita instantly leaves Yumi's arms and collapses into her sister's. Ulrich gently taps a very uncomfortable Odd on the shoulder and motions to him to leave the cave with him. Yumi looks up at her boyfriend as he stands quietly. "Stay, Yumi. They may need you," he whispers to her and she nods.

Atilea cradles her twin sister and gently rubs her back as tears stream down her cheeks. "I love you , Aelita. You're the best…." She pauses to regain a bit of her composure back, then continues, "….Best sister I could have ever asked for. Atilea feels Aelita tighten her grip she has on her waist and fights back the urge to break down crying too. "You've given me…. so much. A new life with new meaning and new friends. I wouldn't trade it away for anything in the world! Thank you for my life, Aelita," she says, laying her head gently against Aelita's. She then looks over to Yumi and smiles through her trembling lips. "Yumi, I don't have the words to properly thank you for everything, from the clothes and the hair brush to the incredible display of forgiveness. Promise me you'll take care of Ulrich, ok?" Yumi fights back her own tears and nods, unable to speak. Atilea smiles and looks down at her sister. "Aelita, I have to go now…." She whispers. A muffled 'no' comes from Aelita and Atilea glances up at the ceiling, knowing that there is now only one way to get Aelita to release her. "Forgive me, Sis," she whispers and raises a hand. Yumi gasps as Atilea gives Aelita a quick chop with her hand on her neck. Aelita groans and Atilea gently lays her now unconscious sister on the floor, crossing her hands neatly on her chest. "I'm sorry I had to do that. You didn't give me much choice, Sis," Atilea says remorsefully and tenderly kisses Aelita's forehead. As she stands, Atilea turns to Yumi and says, "I'm sorry you had to see that." Yumi stands before her, not knowing how to react. "Please, don't try and stop me. I don't want to have to hurt you." Yumi reluctantly nods and Atilea smiles weakly at her. "Take good care of my sister, ok?" Atilea asks as tears once again roll down her face.

Thadeo lands on a plateau and surveys the immediate area surrounding him, searching for any signs of the humans. "They have to be here in the desert sector. We have searched the other sectors, save the fifth sector, and they are nowhere to be found. But, we will find them in the end!" boasts Thadeo to himself. "Then, they will pay for the indignity that they inflicted on us!" With that, he leaps into the air.

Ulrich watches Atilea's face crinkle in sadness. She turns from him and closes her eyes tightly. "I… have to go…" she whispers. He frowns and replies, "Atilea, please tell me you aren't going to do what I think you're going to do." She turns and starts to say something, but her words die in her throat. "Um, I hate to interject like this, but Thadeo's in the sector with you!" states Jeremie. Atilea grits her teeth and clinches her fists, then looks at Ulrich hard. "Odd, I want you to keep Ulrich out of my way!" she commands without taking her eyes off Ulrich. Ulrich gets wide-eyed and Odd looks up at her surprised. "I… I'm sorry, I can't do that. I hate to say it, but Ulrich is better than me here on Lyoko. He'd get past me for sure," Odd replies. "Just do your best. Jeremie, where is Thadeo?" she asks. "I'm not letting you go alone!" pipes up Ulrich. Atilea blinks and starts to respond, but he cuts her off. "We're a team and we fight as a team! I won't let you run off and do something rash! As you said, that is a finishing move, a last-resort tactic. It's not the end yet!" Ulrich says firmly. "If you go, we ALL go!" Atilea stares slightly wide-eyed at him. "Uh, if you guys wait around long enough, Thadeo will come to you!" interjects Jeremie. "Which would be considered a bad thing, I might add." "Not necessarily. We can lay an ambush for him," states Ulrich quickly before Atilea can say anything. "Odd, go get Yumi and Aelita." Odd salutes him and smiles, then turns to jog back into the cave.

"Um, Ulrich?" Atilea asks sheepishly. He turns to look at her. "Yes?" Atilea fidgets nervously and presses her lips together, not wanting to do what she plans. "I, uh, want you to know that I have to protect my friends…." she starts, trailing off. Ulrich raises an eyebrow in curiosity. "Well, so do the rest of us," he replies. Atilea inhales and exhales deeply, trying to work up the courage, then says finally, "Not this time…" Ulrich starts to ask her what she meant by that, but jumps out of the way of a stream of ice shooting from her hand. He turns and sees the ice form a barrier over the cave entrance. Odd suddenly appears behind the ice and starts banging on it, trying to break out. "Hey! What's the big idea, Atilea!" shouts Ulrich at her. She turns shamefully to look at him and replies, "I had to. I have to protect you guys." She steps towards him and raises her hand. "It'll melt , don't worry. I'm sorry, but this is the only way I can see to finally defeat Thadeo…" she states with tears rolling down her face. Ulrich grits his teeth. "No, it isn't! Listen to me!" he says. "I'm sorry…." she stammers and shoots a stream of ice at him. He sprints away in time and stops by the cave entrance. "Atilea, open this cave! Now!" he demands as Odd and Yumi watch through the thick sheet of ice. Atilea shakes her head and releases another stream. This time, Ulrich is a little slow and the ice catches his arm, pinning it to the side of the cave. He struggles to pull his arm free, but with little success. Atilea drops her head and hand, then turns her back to him shamefully. "Forgive me, Ulrich, but…." she starts but her words trail off. Then Atilea takes off running across the desert to look for Thadeo. Ulrich watches her run away and grits his teeth. "ATILEA! DON'T!" he shouts after her, but she ignores his words. Ulrich then returns to the task of freeing his arm. "Jeremie, can you do something?" he asks. "No, sorry, Ulrich. You'll just have to find your own means of escape," replies Jeremie. "Fine. Whatever. Just tell me where Atilea's heading, so when I do get out of this ice, I'll go and get her!" Ulrich says as he draws his katana with his free hand. "Oh, I hope this works…" he mutters and raises the katana to strike the ice holding his arm.

Thadeo lands and scans the area. Then, something catches his attention. "Hmm, there is something… different here. What could it be?" he mumbles and begins to concentrate on the immediate area. After a minute more, Thadeo frowns in dissatisfaction. "There is something different here, but we cannot figure out what it is. This bothers us." He begins slowly walking forward, carefully scanning the area. "It is too quiet. Why?" he mumbles. He glances up at the top of the small cliff next to him and narrows his eyes. Then, he turns to scan a dune several feet away. Suddenly, the sound of something landing behind him catches his attention, but before he can turn to see what it is, Thadeo feels a pair of arms loop under his and up around to the back of his neck. Then, he feels a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around his waist tightly. Thadeo struggles against his attacker, but can't quite reach them. "Argh! Get off us!" he bellows, then he feels the legs tighten around him and the arms holding him draw up tighter, pressing his head forward as they also pull his arms and shoulders backward. "No! I won't! This time, you're gonna get some of your own medicine, Thadeo!" comes a voice from the attacker. Thadeo pauses, analyzing the voice. "Aelita? Our queen? What the…?" he sputters in shock. "Humph! You wish! Try her very angry sister! I don't know what you did to her, but you're gonna pay!" Atilea replies gritting her teeth. Thadeo grimaces in anger and tries to break her hold on his arms. "You. You are the most annoying of them all! We will destroy you!" he exclaims. He reaches back to try and grab her head, but she easily dodges his attempts. Thadeo growls in increasing anger and begins to step backwards. Atilea begins to gather energy and closes her eyes. This catches Thadeo's attention and he pauses. "What? What you doing?" he asks. Atilea smiles and a tear rolls down her cheek. "You'll find out soon enough!" she replies defiantly. He grunts and resumes walking backwards. "Whatever you plan, it will fail. We are invincible!" exclaims Thadeo. Atilea snorts in disbelief and continues to power up. Then, a golden aura forms around her and Thadeo, causing him to stop again and look at himself. "Wha--What is this!" he exclaims with nervousness in his voice. Atilea just chuckles in defiance, which causes him to growl in anger. "We said, get off!" Thadeo shouts and slams Atilea into the cliff face. She yelps in pain, but refuses to release her hold on him. Atilea groans and tries to keep focused. Thadeo grunts in annoyance and again slams Atilea against the cliff face. She strains against the pain and clinches her eyes together. "I'm… not letting go!" she says and Thadeo tries to reach back to grab her. "Get off!" he bellows and slams her a third time against the cliff. Atilea cries out in pain, but she still clings tightly to him. Then, the golden aura brightens and Thadeo glances at himself. Then, he detects the magnitude of the power Atilea has collected. "Wha—NO! That's impossible!" he shouts in shock. "Believe it, Thadeo! This time, you're NOT walking away!" Atilea exclaims boldly and continues to draw more power. "Y—You fool! Do you realize what you are doing!" Thadeo asks. Atilea tightens her grip and replies, "You better believe I do!"

Ulrich sprints as fast as he can across the landscape of the desert, desperately trying to find Atilea. "Jeremie! Where is she?" he asks. "Just keep going in that direction! She's straight ahead and Ulrich, Thadeo is there with her!" Jeremie replies, nervously wiping his sweaty brow. Ulrich grits his teeth and lurches forward, trying to push as much speed out of his legs as he can. Then, up ahead, he sees Thadeo stumble out from behind a dune. Ulrich notices he is flailing strangely and sees a golden aura around him. "What th…?" Ulrich whispers. Then, Thadeo turns and Ulrich sees Atilea clamped to his back. Ulrich gasps as he realizes what is going on.

Thadeo suddenly realizes this measly human female has become as strong as him. "N-No! This cannot be!" he exclaims wildly. "But it is!" Atilea replies confidently then sees a dust plume racing towards them. "Ulrich? Oh, no…" she whispers. Thadeo turns and also sees the dust plume. "Go back, please, go back!" she pleads in a whisper to Ulrich. "The one called Ulrich! Good! With him here, you would not dare release your power!" Thadeo states boldly. "Don't bet on that!" hisses Atilea. Ulrich sprints up and stops short of the two. "Atilea!" he exclaims. "Get her off us!" Thadeo yells. "Shut up! You're not in any position to demand anything!" pipes up Atilea. "Ulrich, how'd you get out? Wait, never mind that, you have to get away from here! If you're caught in the blast, Jeremie may not be able to bring you home!" Ulrich narrows his eyes. "I'm not leaving without you!" he replies. Atilea feels her heartbeat quicken. "It's too late, Ulrich. I'm beyond the point of no return. Go, now, please!" she pleads. Ulrich clinches his fists. Thadeo struggles again, trying to grab her, but she moves out of his reach. "Jeremie, can you bring her home?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie glances around the monitors. "Um, I can try, but with as much power as she collected, it'll be difficult," he replies. "Jeremie! Don't you dare!" Atilea exclaims. "If you do, I'll never…" she continues but stops when she feels that her maximum power has been reached. She turns her head toward Thadeo and says, "This is it, Thadeo. Your end has arrived!" Ulrich gasps as the golden aura begins to flare wildly. "As I said before, you're not walking away from this one!" Atilea then turns to look at Ulrich and he sees two tears roll down her cheeks. "This is for my sister Aelita and the man I love!" Ulrich then feels the energy in the air begin to swell. "No…" he whispers. Atilea smiles at him lovingly as tears flow from her eyes.

"I love you, Ulrich Stern. Good-bye."

Ulrich feels as if time slowed down drastically. The explosion begins with a flash and he instantly turns and sprints away, with the resulting boom and energy release following mere inches behind him. He sprints across the desert, desperately looking for any kind of shelter. Then, he finally spots a very short drop-off ahead of him. Ulrich dives behind the drop-off and presses himself tight against the face of it. Dirt and dust billow over the top of him and he turns his face to the wall to protect himself.

Odd solely stares out the ice wall and taps his fingers against it impatiently. "Man, wish this thing'd melt faster!" he states. Yumi glances at him from her seat next to a sullen and distant Aelita. She starts to say something, but stops when she feels a faint tremor in the ground. "Whoa…." Odd says in awe and Yumi stands to join him. The two see a bright flash followed by a giant plume of dust and smoke. "I felt tremors in the ground," Yumi informs him and Odd begins to feel the tremors in the ground also. "So do I…wait, they're getting stronger!" he replies. Suddenly, the entire cave gets hit with a shockwave from the distant explosion, causing the three to fall to the ground completely and the ice wall to crack severely. Yumi tries to crawl to Aelita, who is balled up on the floor. Odd rolls out of the way of a falling chunk of the ceiling. The cave continues to shake and Aelita starts crying out in fear. Yumi manages to reach her and wraps her arms around her. Then, silence suddenly fills the room. Odd lowers his arms from in front of his face and sees that the ceiling isn't going to drop anything else at him. "Yumi? Aelita? Are you alright?" he asks, rolling over onto all fours. Yumi coughs a few times before answering. "Yeah, we're fine. How about you?" she replies. Odd stands and walks over to them. "Peachy. Jeremie, what was that?" he asks. Jeremie stares confusedly at the monitors that have suddenly gone haywire. "Um, I have no idea! Whatever it was, screwed up the visual sensors. I can't tell what is going on! Looks like I'm gonna have to restart several of the quantum computer's processes before I can tell you anything," Jeremie replies. Odd frowns and helps Yumi stand. "Wonderful. Please tell me that the materialization program is hunky-dory," Odd says. Jeremie glances at the last monitor that still has any discernable information on it. "Um, I'll get back to you on that, Odd," he replies grimly. "Yippee-skippy. In the dark. Again!" Odd replies then glances at the ice wall and sees how damaged it is. "Hey, Yumi! I think we can break it down now! Look!" he exclaims cheerfully and points to the ice wall. Yumi glances at it and smiles. "Finally. Something that has went our way for once!" she states in relief.

Ulrich pops his head out from under the thick layer of dirt, dust, and miscellaneous debris and gasps for air. He inhales and exhales deeply several times before climbing the rest of the way out of the rubble. "That was not fun…" he mumbles and dusts himself off. Then he stops and turns around back the way he came. "Atilea!" he exclaims and hops up on top of the drop-off, then takes off toward where he was forced to leave her and Thadeo. He sprints most of the way there, but upon seeing the massive crater in the ground, he slows down to a stunned walk. "Oh, my gosh….." Ulrich blinks in dismay at the sheer size of the crater and stops at the edge of the crater. Then, he looks down into the crater and sees a bit of black and red cloth sticking out from under a mound of dirt. His heart begins to pound as he leaps over the edge of the crater and makes his way toward the bottom of it. "Atilea… oh please, oh please, oh please, be alive…." he whispers. He stops short of the mound and stares at the cloth. It was definitely sticking out from the mound and it was Atilea's uniform. Then he glances around for any signs of Thadeo. Upon seeing none, he returns his attention to the mound. Ulrich swallows nervously as he almost forces his body to kneel down next to the mound. He begins to move the dirt and his fingers touches flesh. He freezes for a split second, then begins to dig frantically. Soon, he uncovers Atilea's face. Her eyes and mouth are closed, her pink hair almost brown from all the dirt and dust, and her once rosy cheeks are now scraped up. He instantly unearths the rest of her and pulls her free of the dirt mound she laid in. He cradles her in her arms and brushes the dirt from her face. "Atilea?" he whispers to her. "Atilea, please answer! Give me a sign! Anything!" Then, her body flickers and becomes transparent slightly for a second. Ulrich gasps as his arms become visible through her body during that time. "I've seen that before! When Odd and Yumi switched bodies for a day!" he mumbles. "Atilea! Atilea! Can you hear me?" he asks.

Nothing. No movement, no nothing.

"No… No… please, no…. Atilea!"

Silence.

"Atilea…. Why? Why did you do it?"

No reply.

"Atilea…."

Ulrich realizes that tears have begun to fall from his eyes, dropping onto her face and rolling down her cheeks, collecting dirt as they go. Then, a tear lands on her eyelid and Ulrich thinks he sees it flit slightly. He stares at her intently for any movement at all. Then, his shoulders sag with sad realization.

"Atilea…" he says and lays his head gently against hers. Then, he hears what sounds like an inhale and pulls back to look at her face. Ulrich sees that her mouth is open and puts his fingers in front of it to feel for any air movement. Then, a small amount of air hits is fingers.

"Atilea! Atilea! Please answer me! Can you hear me?" he asks frantically. Her eyelids part so slightly that Ulrich can't even see her irises. Her mouth closes and her body flickers again. "Oh, no…." Ulrich states dreadedly. "Please, Atilea, give me a sign, please," he pleads quietly to her. Her eyelids part further apart and she stares up at him. A tear from Ulrich falls and hits her in the forehead and she tries to take a breath, but he can tell it is extremely hard for her to. She tries to smile, but she doesn't have the strength to make it complete. Her lips tremble and the smile disappears. "Oh, Atilea, why? Why did you do it?" he finds himself asking again. Atilea tries to smile at him again and tries to lift her hand up to his face, but her body flickers again, causing her to drop her hand. Ulrich gently takes her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze.

"So……. tired……." Atilea finally manages to say. "Why…….. you……. still….. here?"

Ulrich shushes her and replies, "Don't talk. Just rest. I'll get Jeremie to take you home." She closes her eyes and exhales roughly. "Just hang on, Atilea. Please, hang on." She inhales just as roughly and turns her head to lay it against his chest. Then, a noise from behind him catches his attention. Ulrich whirls his head around, hoping not to see Thadeo behind him. He lets out a sigh of relief when he sees Odd, Yumi, and Aelita at the edge of the crater looking in awe at him and the crater. Then, Aelita spots him holding Atilea and takes off down the side of the crater towards them. "ATILEA!" she screams through her sobs. Yumi and Odd take off behind her. "ATILEA!" Aelita shouts again and Atilea stirs against Ulrich's chest. She opens her eyes slightly in time to see Aelita come bounding into view. Ulrich looks at Aelita as she kneels down across from him. The sister's eyes meet and Atilea tries to smile up at her sister, but her lips begin to tremble again and the smile disappears. Aelita looks up at Ulrich and sees that he's been crying. He sees her eyes ask him to hold her sister and he gently shifts Atilea from his arms to hers. Atilea groans weakly and grimaces slightly. "I have to tell you…." he starts, but gets cut off by a groan of pain from Atilea. The group looks at her as her body flickers once again, but this time, it stays transparent longer. "Never mind. You just saw it," Ulrich finishes sadly. "We need to get her back home now!" Odd sighs heavily and hangs his head. "Jeremie doesn't know if the materialization program is still running or not," he states, trying to contain his emotions. Yumi steps back a couple of steps and plops down on the ground, unable to speak. She feels tears well up in her eyes as she sees Atilea's body flicker. "None of us may be able to go back yet!" Odd finishes. Ulrich grunts in dissatisfaction and dismay. "Jeremie! Please tell me you have some good news!" Ulrich states. Jeremie looks up at the screen in front of him and replies, "Uh, ok, I do, but I also have some bad news." Ulrich sighs and runs a hand down his face. "Fine, good news first then," he says. "Good news is, I have your stat screen back up and running. Also, the bio-locator is, um, functional. Not quite up to full potential yet, but good enough to let me know where you're at and if anything else shows up near you. Another bit of good news is that I've scanned all the sectors and it looks as if Thadeo is gone for good. But…" Jeremie pauses as his eyes remain on Atilea's life point indicator. " Can you get us home?" asks Ulrich before Jeremie can continue. Jeremie glances over at a monitor to his right. "Maybe. As long as nothing else blows up big enough to knock out the sensors and scanners again, but it's gonna have to be one at a time. The system's still reeling from the shock of the explosion. I can't risk trying to bring more than that right now. Sorry."

Ulrich nods slightly and says, "Well, Atilea's barely alive. So, I guess that's a bit of good news from our end, however, her body is… well, flickering similarly to when Odd and Yumi's body did when they were switched." Jeremie grimaces at his report. "I was afraid of that," he says sadly. Ulrich's shoulders slump farther down. "The bad news, Jeremie. Tell us, please," he requests solemnly. Jeremie presses his lips together, trying to figure out the best way to tell him. "Um, Atilea…. She…" he stammers. Aelita lifts her head and says, "Jeremie, please, tell me!" Jeremie closes his eyes and turns from the screen. The sound of his girlfriend's voice makes him dread telling them even more, but he sees no easy way to break the news to her. "Aelita, your sister… she….she….only has one-half of a life point left," Jeremie finally manages to get out. The group falls silent and stares at Atilea. Aelita looks into her sister's partially open eyes and sobs. Atilea tries to lift a hand to touch her cheek, but fails. Aelita catches her falling hand and presses it against her cheek for her. A tear rolls out of Atilea's left eye and she tries to smile up at her sister once more. "I have no idea how that happened. I've never seen anything like it before. Usually, a life point is a whole number, but this…. This completely throws that rule out the window!" Jeremie states.

"Aelita……..I……..love……you……sis……" Atilea strains to get out. Aelita nearly looses her entire composure as she hears her sister's weak voice. "No! Don't talk! Please, save your strength, Sis!" Aelita finally says. "Jeremie! Please! Bring her home!" Aelita pleads. Jeremie turns back to the screen and types in a few commands. "She needs to be brought home!" comes his frantic girlfriend's voice. "I will try, sweetie, I will try! Give me a minute!" he replies. Aelita looks back down at Atilea. "Hang on, Atilea, please, hang on! Jeremie will get you home and then we'll finish that cake and then we'll go see Dad and Mom together! Then….then…. I'll spend the night with you like I promised yesterday and tomorrow we'll go to town together!" Aelita's vision blurs from the tears falling from her eyes and Ulrich feels Yumi wrap her arms around his waist from behind him. He hears her sob quietly against his back. "Please, just hang on, sis!" Aelita pleads and Atilea's body flickers again, this time much longer than before. Aelita begins to get frantic again. "No! Please! Hang on! Don't leave me! Jeremie! Do something!" Jeremie wipes a tear from his eye before it has a chance to roll down his cheek. "I'm trying, Aelita!" he replies. Then, he gets the visual representation of Atilea's digital DNA up on the monitor. One look, and his heart sinks. "Oh, no…" he mouths. "No…. it can't be….." he whispers in utter sorrow. Aelita calms down again and gently brushes a couple of strains of Atilea's hair out of her face. "Hang on, Sis, just a little longer," she says. Atilea gasps, trying to draw a breath as her body flickers once more. "Yeah, hang on, and….and I'll show you how to beat anyone in a pillow fight!" Ulrich says. Aelita chuckles slightly and wipes a tear from her sister's eye. Atilea strains to turn her head towards him, then gives him a smile. Yumi peeks over her boyfriend's shoulder and says, "Then, me and you'll gang up on Ulrich!" Atilea smiles as she looks at Yumi with tears continuing to fall. Odd pokes his head in and says, "I'll let you give Kiwi a bath!" Ulrich tries to hold back a chuckle. "Odd, be serious…" Ulrich says and gently punches his friend's arm. Then, Jeremie's solemn voice penetrates the atmosphere. "I….I…..have more bad news….." he stammers. "Her….Atilea's digital DNA…. it's been…..fractured." He pauses to regain his composure. "I…. don't know if I can bring her back." The group falls silent, unable to respond to the news. "But, you can fix it, right?" asks Odd. "Fix it how? I… I… don't have a magic wand I can wave over the computer and repair her DNA. Whatever she did, fractured her DNA. I don't think there is a way to repair it!" Jeremie replies. "But you have to try!" exclaims Aelita. "Can't you just overlay a copy of her DNA over it and fix it that way?" asks Ulrich. Jeremie shakes his head and replies, "I don't know! And if I did, I don't have a sample of her DNA to use." The group remains silent for a moment, then Yumi sudden gets an idea. "Hairbrush…" she says. "What?" asks Ulrich turning his head to look at her. "The hairbrush I gave her! That new one my Mom gave me that I never used! I gave it to her! It should have some of her hair in it!" Yumi says excitedly. Aelita looks up at her hopefully. "Jeremie, you could re-constitute her DNA with it, similar to what you did to me when I disappeared after the return to past that time you materialized one of my hairs!" Aelita adds. Jeremie ponders the idea for a moment, then nods. "It's worth a shot. Why not?" he says. "I'll run and go get it. Where does she keep it?" Aelita thinks for a moment, then answers, "On the dresser next to the old closet, I think." Jeremie hops down from the computer chair and says, "Ok, got it! Be right back as soon as I can!" He removes the headset and heads toward the elevator.

Several minutes later, Jeremie carefully places a single, pink hair in a test tube into the scanner pod. He closes the door and heads back up to the control room. "Ok, here it goes!" he states as he puts on the headset. "Hurry, she's not going to last much longer!" exclaims Ulrich. Jeremie begins the process and pulls up a display of the hair's DNA. He studies it and frowns. "No, that's not the right one! This one still has the markers from X.A.N.A. in it!" he mumbles. "Hey, this could take a while! I have to find a hair that matches her current DNA set! The one I tested is one from when she was still linked to X.A.N.A. and won't work!" Aelita frowns and looks down at her sister. "Fine, whatever, Jeremie. Just do what you have to, but please hurry. Atilea's fading faster," Aelita says. "I'll do my best, but I really could use some help with this," Jeremie replies as he carefully selects the next hair from the brush. "Bring me back, Jeremie. I'm not doing anything here," Odd says. "Ok, Odd. Hold on. This could be rough," says Jeremie and brings the materialization process. Soon, Odd and Jeremie begin testing each of the hairs in the brush. As Jeremie gets more and more wrong DNA sets, he begins to get frustrated. Soon, they are down to the last hair in the brush. Odd carefully places it in the test tube and sets it in the scanner pod. "Um, that's the last one, Jeremie," Odd informs and watches the doors to the scanner pod close. "Let's hope it is the right one this time. If not, I'm not sure what to do next," Jeremie states and begins the DNA analysis. The display pops up and he begins to compare the DNA strands. A smile creeps onto his face as he confirms that it is the same. "YES! We have a winner folks!" he shouts in excitement. Aelita smiles in relief and looks down at Atilea. "Hear that, Sis? We've found a DNA match! We can use that to fix your broken DNA!" she says happily. Ulrich gently pats Yumi's hand comfortingly and she rests her chin on his shoulder. "Ok, now let's see, how to get her DNA to splice itself back together…." Jeremie says, thinking out loud.

A few minutes later, Jeremie frowns in frustration at the monitor. "Why aren't you working!" he complains and bangs his fist down on the arm rest of the chair. "Jeremie, I think we're losing her!" exclaims Ulrich. "What's taking so long?" Jeremie grunts and replies, "I don't know. It's not working. Her fractured DNA refuses to splice back together." Aelita begins to rock her sister and says to her, "Please, you've got to hang on a little longer! Don't give up now! Jeremie will figure it out and then your DNA will be put back together and then we can go home! Think about home, Atilea! Think about the Hermitage, your bed, about the dandelions you love, and…and…think about the beauty of the sunset…." Atilea somehow manages to open her eyes and give Aelita a smile. Aelita sees the smile and says, "Yes! Yes! Remember that first night we sat on the porch of the Hermitage and gazed at the stars!" Atilea gets a sad look on her fading face and reaches up to touch Aelita's cheek.

"I…..love…….you…… Aelita…….Take……..care…….of……Jeremie……" she strains to say. Aelita shakes her head and says, "Don't talk! Save you energy! Jeremie will fix it!" Atilea closes her eyes and rolls her head against Aelita's chest. "Too……..late……..Told……..you………it……was……a…… self sacrificing…….. deal." Aelita shakes her head harder. "No! We can save you! Just hold on! Don't give up!"

"Good…bye….Aelita…"

And with that, Atilea's body fades away completely. Aelita begins to breath hard and pulls her arms to her chest. "No…. No….please….no…." she says. Then she breaks down crying. Ulrich feels Yumi's tears hit his shoulder and closes his eyes. He hangs his head as tears begin to fall from his own eyes. Aelita curls into a ball and sobs loudly. "NO! ATILEA! NO! PLEASE, COME BACK!" she cries out. "Don't leave me……." Jeremie hangs his head and removes his glasses to cover his eyes with his hand. He slams his fist hard against the arm rest in anger and frustration with himself. Odd leans against the wall in the scanner room, hugging his knees. Jeremie looks up at the screen and gets ready to clear the DNA from the computer, then stops. Maybe, just maybe, there was one last hope…. Jeremie wipes his eyes free of tears and replaces his glasses, then begins to type away at the keyboard. This is the last chance to save her. As he tries to get the DNA to respawn Atilea, Ulrich and Yumi gather in a huge hug around Aelita. The monitor flashes a huge red error and Jeremie shakes his head. He restarts the process and the same error pops up. Jeremie growls and tries again. Same result. "NO! So close!" he yells after a fourth try fails. "Come on! Give us a break! PLEASE!" Jeremie exclaims angrily. After the seventh failed attempt, Jeremie's heart and hopes drop. He clears the screen and shakes his head, not knowing why it isn't working. He did something similar to this before when Aelita was deleted that one time. It worked then, but why not now? He hangs his head and holds it in his hands. Then, he looks up at the screen and brings up the DNA strand again. He saves a copy in the protected section of the computer, then opens a channel to Ulrich.

"I'm so sorry…. I couldn't bring her back….. I'm so sorry," he says mournfully. Ulrich glances at Yumi then at the still crying Aelita. He swallows, trying to get his throat to loosen up so he can speak. "You did your best, Jeremie. You always do," Ulrich says. "Then why does it feel like I haven't? I couldn't save her! I tried and tried and tried, but I failed every time!" Jeremie exclaims as his emotions begin to overtake him. "This is one of those hollow victories, just like last time! It's not fair! We're the good guys! We're not supposed to lose even though we win!" Odd states as he enters the control room. Jeremie looks over at his blonde and purple haired friend and replies, "I know what you mean, Odd. Ulrich, are you ready to come…home?" Ulrich looks at Yumi and she nods, as a fresh tear follows a tear track down her cheek. "Bring Aelita home first. She's gonna need you, big time," Ulrich replies and slides away from Aelita and around to Yumi.

_**Author's thoughts/ramblings: **First off I want to apologize for the EXTREME wait period between this chapter and the last one. It was mainly due to my ahemlaziness, but also I've been getting ready to go to Manchester, England on a mission's trip with my church._

_Secondly, I want to say to those of you who don't exactly like long chapters—sorry. This is the nature of my beast, so to speak. I had so much to pour into this, that it, well, you know already. You've read this chapter. Unless you skipped to the very end first. Then in that case, that's cheating! Ok, maybe not, but it could ruin the chapter for you. _

_Thirdly, I wanted to give you a small insight to another reason why this chapter took sssoooo lllooonnggg to write. I was torn about the fate of Atilea, whether to keep her around or… you know if you've read the chapter. It was a hard one to make, but I made it and I haven't looked back. For those of you who are Atilea fans—please don't lynch me. I brace myself for the potential onslaught, but I beg you to be kind! (Smiles innocently and a halo appears over head)_

_Lastly, I will try and get the last chapter up before I leave for England, but I've found that it's pretty much an up in the air deal with these sort of things. I'll do my best, but no promises. Until next time…_

_Oh, and.. TROGDOR COMES IN THE NNNIIIIIIIIIGGHTTT!_


	15. The Second Seal

_**Disclaimer: **Ah, you know by now I don't own Code: Lyoko…_

_AUTHOR'S RAMBLINGS: Wow. Can't believe that this is it. The last chapter! Wow. I've never done this, but I guess now is as good a time as any. I dedicate this chapter to those reviewers that have stuck through the entire story. To SaphireRaider, MylindaAntoinette, Kazetatsu, and Rycr, this is for you. Thank you to you and to all those of you who have reviewed this story! You have been a big help! Thank you once again!_

_Now, look forward to seeing the prequel to this story… See you there!_

**Code: Lyoko **

**Mirror, Mirror**

**Part XIV: The Second Seal**

Kiwi didn't know exactly what had happened, but he definitely knew something was wrong and that something, or someone, was missing. He just couldn't put his paw on it. When his master returns with his friends, he had greeted them with all the usual excited-ness he usually did, but he didn't understand why none of them seemed happy. They stayed for a little while longer at the huge old house, and he tried to cheer them up by acting silly. Usually, his master would laugh happily at him and then give him a soothing belly-rub. But not this time. He even tried his famous 'chasing his own tail' act, but even that failed to produce the slightest smile. Kiwi looks over to his master's sad face. His master had collected him and the two came back to the cozy room his master had on the school grounds. Kiwi had watched him plop down onto his bed and roll over onto this side, not saying a word. Then, he leapt up onto the bed next to his master and tried to nuzzle his way under his master's arm. Instead, his master said something to him he had never before said. "Go away." Those words rang in Kiwi's ears and he felt a strange pang inside him. His master had never said those words and meant it before! He had obediently moved to the foot of the bed and laid down, wondering if it was something he did to upset his master so much.

Kiwi whimpers, wanting to cuddle up with his master so bad. He wags his tail slightly and looks at his master's face, trying to show that whatever he did, he was sorry. Then, he crawls slowly on his belly towards his master. Then, Kiwi sees him wipe his eye with his hand and cocks his head slightly to the side. Kiwi whimpers again a little louder and sees his master look over at him. Kiwi notices that his master's eyes were….leaking water. He had seen them do this before, a long time ago. Kiwi also remembers that the water tasted salty. "C'mere, boy," Odd calls to him softly. Kiwi stands and walks over to him. He feels his master wrap an arm around him and pull him close. If he could, Kiwi would have had a smile on his face. Kiwi licks his masters chin and the distinct taste of the strange salty water appears on his tongue. Kiwi hears his master apologize for pushing him away and begins to feel him scratch his ears. Kiwi looks up at him and wags his tail hard, trying to let him know that he held no offense. Then, Kiwi's mind wanders to that large white, sweet treat that was in the old house. He begins to wonder what they did with that. His master had given him some of it earlier, before they left him alone. Kiwi licks his lips as he remembers how tasty it was.

Ulrich pounds the Body Opponent Bag, or BOB for short, with a fury of kicks and punches. His body begins to tell him that it is tired, but his mind continues to replay those last moments before Atilea died, then switches to images of Thadeo smirking evilly at him. Ulrich feels all the anger and pain rise up inside him again. He pushes his body harder, forcing it to continue pounding away at the BOB. Sweat rains down from his brow as he leaps in the air and connects perfectly with the BOB's head with a jump-turn round kick. He lands and spin-side kicks the BOB in the midsection, causing it to rock back. Instantly, he lets loose several precision punches and hand strikes on the bag. All the while, scenes of Atilea's death and the fight with Thadeo play repeatedly in his mind, further fueling his brutal attack on the BOB.

Yumi cautiously enters the empty room, save Ulrich, and watches him from a distance. She's seen him like this once before and knew to just leave him be until he exhausted himself. She hugs her arms and sniffs as she takes a seat near the door. Her heart longs for his touch, but she has to keep herself from interrupting him. He reacted to Dr. Hopper's death similarly, but not nearly this… intensely. Yumi starts to wonder why, but it hits her. Atilea was their age. Granted, Dr. Hopper was a good friend to them and an even better father to Aelita, but he never really connected to them like Atilea did. Then there were the circumstances around his death. At that time, they were trying to get X.A.N.A. back into Lyoko and place the first seal on him to keep him there. There wasn't that much time for the group to grow that close to Dr. Hopper. Aelita was really the only one to connect with him. Not that she blamed her. If she had been separated from her father for that length of time, she would have wanted to spend all the time she could with him. Yumi subconsciously looks at the floor and lets her mind replay all the times her and Atilea shared. A smile creeps onto her face as she remembers that first night they spent together. Her, Aelita, and Atilea stayed up to the most insane hours of the morning, giggling and carrying on. But, now she was gone. Yumi remembers when they first returned from Lyoko, and how Aelita fell into Jeremie's arms bawling and hearing him apologize over and over to her for being unable to save her sister. Yumi's smile fades quickly as she feels sadness begin to overtake her again. Despite the fact that Atilea stole a kiss from Ulrich and had very strong feelings for him, Yumi knew that she cared for all of them the same. Except for Aelita. Aelita was her 'big sister' of sorts and would do anything for her.

A yell from Ulrich draws her out of her trace and she looks up to see him land a kick so hard on the BOB that it tips over backwards. That was it, the breaking point. Yumi knew that once he yelled like that, his body would force his mind to stop and he would calm down. Some people asked her if she was ever concerned that he might turn his aggression on her one day. She told them firmly 'no' because she knew him and how much he loved and cared for her. Yumi also found it very mature of him to release his stress and anxiety out in the gym on a bag before speaking to or even seeing her. He told her once that he didn't want to even be around her in he was upset. But it was also very rare for him to get upset like this. Yumi knew that she was safe with him, no matter what. He didn't just say it, he proved it, time and time again. Yumi watches him close his eyes and place his hands on top of his head as he pants hard. She notes that he had taken his shirt off and laid it on a stool close by him. Yumi sees that his chest and abs glisten with sweat in the light. She then notices he has gained a bit more muscle tone on him since the last time she snuck a look at his body. He drops his arms and swallows, then walks over to the BOB and stands it up. He grabs his towel that sat next to his shirt and wipes his face with it. Yumi stands quietly and starts walking over to him. He looks over to see her coming towards him and gives her a small smile. She returns the smile as he drapes the now damp towel around his neck. "How long were you watching me?" he asks her quietly. Yumi gives him a loving smile and replies, "Not long. How are you feeling?" Ulrich wipes a bead of sweat from his temple and answers, "Tired, not just physically, but mentally. I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Yumi." She smiles warmly at him and starts to hug him. "Don't hug me! I'm too sweaty and probably stinky!" he exclaims, but she ignores him. "I don't care! I love you, sweat and all!" Yumi states and wraps her arms around him. He concedes and wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her closer. She kisses him and then leans her head against his. "I love you, Yumi, but sometimes you can be a bit weird," he says chuckling slightly. "No more that you, Baby," she replies. "I don't suppose you've talked to Jeremie or Odd recently?" Ulrich shakes his head. "Not since we left the Hermitage. I do know Odd was heading straight to our dorm, but I don't know about Jeremie. And you know I came straight here," he replies and breaks from her hug to pick up his shirt. He finishes wiping the sweat off his body and slides his shirt back on. "I'm… really worried about Aelita. She's been hit hard by this," Yumi says. Ulrich nods and pulls a few coins out of his pocket for a drink. "Twice. First her father, now her sister. It just isn't fair. She's a sweet, smart, intelligent girl, and she doesn't deserve all that has happened to her," Ulrich states walking towards the nearby vending machine. Yumi follows him, hugging her arms. "Yeah, got that right. Sometimes I just wish we could turn off that computer and be done with it," she says. Ulrich grabs his fruit drink from the vending machine slot and turns to her. "Yeah, well, we tried that once remember? It didn't really work! X.A.N.A. somehow managed to turn the computer back on by himself! And to this day, I still don't understand Jeremie's explanation why he could do that," Ulrich replies, opening his drink. "You want something, sweetie?" he asks her, indicating the vending machine. She shakes her head and sighs. "I assume she's still going to sleep at the Hermitage tonight?" Ulrich asks after taking a drink. Yumi nods and replies, "Yeah. I asked her if she wanted me to stay with her, but she said no. I don't know how she's going to get any sleep. I know I wouldn't." Ulrich nods slightly and says, "I don't think any of us are going to get any sleep tonight. I know I'm not." Yumi steps up to him and slides her arms around his waist while resting her head against his neck and the two simply holds each other. "I'm gonna miss her so much…." Ulrich whispers. Yumi tightens her hug, and turns her head to bury her face in his neck. "I don't think…. I'll ever look at a dandelion the same ever again…." he continues. Ulrich feels tears hit his neck and wraps his arms tighter around his girlfriend. After a few more minutes, Yumi lifts her head and wipes the tears from her eyes. "I… have to get home. Mom and Dad'll get worried if I'm not back by the time I told them. I've also gotta come up with some kind of reason why I look like I've been crying if I can't put on a good enough act. Sometimes I wish I could just tell them what's going on," she says, leaning up from him. "I know how you feel. There are times I wish I could tell my parents, but I can't. None of us can, for their own safety. But, there will come a day when this is all over, once and for all. Then, we can tell the entire world what's been going on. After that, we can get married, have a couple of kids, send them off to college, then grow old together in a retirement home somewhere," Ulrich replies. Yumi frowns in mild bewilderment at his last statement and giggles. "What?" she asks in bewilderment. He chuckles and squeezes her gently. "Just kidding, sweetheart. We'll do all that, except for the kids part!" he jokes. Yumi giggles and smacks him gently on the back of the head. "Goober. Maybe eventually I want kids!" she states. "Well, there's a fifty-percent chance our kids will turn out like you, and that would be fine! It's that other fifty-percent chance that they'll turn out like me that worries me! I just don't know if I can handle another little me running around! Having been cloned kinda broke me of wanting that!" Ulrich replies and Yumi smiles at him. She kisses him and refrains from taking a jibe at him. "I hafta go now. Love you, Ulrich," she says, not really wanting to leave him. Ulrich sighs and nods. "Be careful going home, Babe. Love you too, Yumi." The two kiss again, then goes their separate ways.

Aelita didn't know when she actually fell asleep or how long she slept. All she knew was that she was crying while curled up in Atilea's bed, then there was a period of dreamless darkness, followed by the opening of her eyes to see the bright sunlight shining through the bedroom window. Aelita grimaces and curls herself up tighter in a ball, then buries her head under the covers. She didn't want to be awake or asleep. She wanted her sister, nothing else. But there was nothing she or anyone could do about that. Aelita tries to force herself to go back to sleep, if anything but to postpone the reality of her sister being gone. Instead, her mind decides to begin replaying images of Atilea over and over. Aelita squeezes her eyelids together tightly, trying to hold back the inevitable flow of tears. She felt so alone now that not even the comforting words of her boyfriend could soothe her. Jeremie had tried so hard last night to convince her that she wasn't alone, but it didn't help. She was an orphan again. Maybe it was her destiny to be without a family of any kind. Aelita sobs and bunches up a part of the sheet in her hand. Why? Why did Atilea have to go? Why did she leave her all alone?

Then, the chirping of a bird outside the window catches her attention. Aelita slides the covers off her head and peers angrily out the window to see a swallow sitting on the window pane. _Go away! I don't want to hear that!_ she thinks at the bird. However, the swallow doesn't pick up on Aelita's angry mental message and continues to chirp happily. Aelita covers her head back up and rolls over to put her back to the window. Then her hand hits something hard in the bed next to her. She tosses back the sheets in surprise to see a face-down picture frame. Aelita starts to wonder where it came from, then remembers that she cradled it last night. Aelita's heartbeat slows down as she picks up the frame and looks at the picture. It is the only picture she had of her and Atilea together. Jeremie had taken it with his camera the day before Atilea… died. Tears begin to well up in her eyes as she stares at the picture of the pair of pink-haired siblings smiling at the camera. Why? Why did she have to die? It wasn't fair! Her sister loved this world! She had every right to live here too! Why wouldn't the computer let Jeremie fix Atilea's DNA and save her? Why? Why!

So many questions, so few answers. Aelita presses the picture against her chest and begins crying again. "Atilea… Sis, why?" she mumbles as tears roll down her face and fall onto the bed, instantly getting soaked up by the sheets. Then, a sweet scent fills her nostrils. Aelita looks up, sniffing, and sees the bottle of perfume she had bought Atilea the day before. The cap was still off the bottle and sat next to it. Aelita's vision blurs as a couple of large tears slowly escapes her tear ducts. Aelita's gaze returns to the picture and she runs her thumb over the smiling image of her sister. "I miss you so much, Atilea…. I… I never got to tell you how much I love you or about Mom and Dad or even show you their graves!" she says as a tear hits the glass covering the picture. Then, she looks up and sees that the swallow is still sitting in the window, chirping away. "I'm sorry, Mr. Bird, I didn't mean to be so… mean to you, even though there's no way you could hear my thoughts." Aelita says apologetically. "I'm just so…. lonely!" Aelita looks at the picture and wipes the tear off the glass. _I love you, Sis, _she says in her mind and wipes her eyes dry. She glances over at her pink cell phone and sniffs, trying to work up the courage to call Jeremie. She wasn't…. too nice to him before he left her and Yumi last night. A pang of guilt hits her and she frowns remorsefully at the phone, then reaches over to pick it up.

Jeremie pecks away at the keyboard of the quantum computer, trying to keep his mind from wandering too far from the task he set himself to do. He didn't really have to be here today, but it kept his mind occupied and off the pain of loss that he and his friends, especially Aelita, suffered. Despite all of them telling him that there wasn't anything else he could do, and that he did the best he could, it didn't feel like it. He still felt… partially responsible for Atilea's death. If only he had a better understanding of the principles of how the computer registered DNA and transformed it into a digital representation. Sure, he had a basic understanding and Aelita's father, Dr. Hopper, had explained a little more about the computer and its original function, but nothing really in-depth about how it preserves the subject's DNA. He did have a few theories, but nothing concrete. Also, he hasn't really had the time to test his hypotheses. They've been too busy fighting off X.A.N.A. and, more recently, Thadeo. Then, there was the death of Aelita's father and sister. Jeremie sighs and arches his back to relieve a sudden knot in it. He also felt bad about trying to pressure Aelita to let Yumi stay with her last night. It ended up in her almost yelling at him to leave. He resumes typing after shoving his glasses back up his nose. He sighs and feels his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Jeremie glances at the time on the computer screen and wonders who could be calling him. Definitely not Odd. It was a Saturday and there was no way he'd miss a chance to sleep in.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sweetie."

"Aelita! Um, hi. How are you?"

"Lonely."

"Oh, uh, did you sleep well?"

"Not really. I… I think I cried myself to sleep."

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to, um, help?"

"Yeah. Come and be with me. I need…. I need someone here to take away the loneliness."

Jeremie smiles and replies, "Sure, Aelita. I'll be right there, Honey." He hangs up the phone and quickly saves his work, then slides out of the computer chair.

Ulrich stirs his oatmeal subconsciously as he stares off into space. Odd swallows the last bit of orange juice and sees that his friend really isn't interested in eating his breakfast. "Um, Ulrich…? If you're not…" he says cautiously. Ulrich comes back to reality and glances down at his nearly full bowl of oatmeal, then shoves it towards Odd, knowing what his blonde and purple haired friend wanted. Odd smiles thankfully and begins to scoop more sugar on the oatmeal. After a couple of bites, Odd finds the silence a bit too much to handle. "So, uh, how are you holding up?" he asks. Ulrich once again returns to the land of the living and replies, "Um, as good as excepted, I guess. And you?" Odd swallows a bite and states, "The same, I guess. Yumi ok?" Ulrich nods and rubs the back of his neck. "She's, um, just more worried about Aelita, and rightfully so. Aelita lost her dad and now her sister. She's been through a lot here lately," Ulrich says. Odd nods and says, "Yeah, no kidding. Our pink-haired princess doesn't deserve all this. She deserves a great life and a family." He gets ready to take a drink but then remembers he finished off his orange juice. Odd glances at Ulrich's orange juice but Ulrich snatches it and begins to drink it quickly. Ulrich slams the empty orange juice carton down victoriously on the table and says, "Sorry, Odd, I don't have anymore orange juice! Look like you're just gonna have to talk Rosa into giving you another one!" Odd gives him a disproving frown and gets up. Ulrich chuckles as he watches Odd trot over to the counter. Then, he hears his cell phone ring and reaches into his pocket to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Baby. How are you?" comes Yumi's voice.

"Fine, I guess. How about you?"

"OK, I suppose. Did you get any sleep?"

"Not really, and it wasn't just because of… Atilea. It was because I let Odd get to sleep before me. I swear, that guy has a snore that could wake the dead. Sounded like a freakin' chainsaw running!" Ulrich hears Yumi giggle on the other end. "So, whatcha doing?" he asks.

Yumi blushes slightly and pauses before answering. "Oh, uh, I just got out of the shower." Ulrich blinks and feels his face begin to burn with embarrassment. "So, you have any plans for today?" Yumi asks quickly to get past the sudden awkwardness. Ulrich pauses in thought, then replies, "Um, not really. I had thought about going and visiting Aelita at the Hermitage. What about you?" Yumi shifts her phone to her other hand so she can brush the other half of her ebony hair. "Well, I did want to spend time with you. Then, maybe go and see Aelita. Perhaps, if you want, we can do both.," she answers his question as she finds a tangle in her hair that just won't come out. "Grrrr! Come on! Get out of my hair!" she says and Ulrich, not knowing what she is doing, raises an eyebrow. "Uh, Yumi?" he asks, nervously. Yumi realizes that she said that a little too loud. "Oh, sorry! I wasn't talking to you! I have this tangle in my hair…." she says. "Ah, say no more. I get it now. You want me to meet you at your house?" Ulrich asks. Yumi stands and sets her brush down after finally getting her hair to behave, then turns to her dresser and pulls out a pair of jeans. "Sure, sounds good. Hiroki has been bugging me, wanting to know when you'll be over again. I guess he's taken to you," Yumi says. Ulrich half-smiles humbly and replies, "Well, I think he likes the idea of maybe having a big brother around to distract his big sister away from picking on him!" Yumi pauses and shakes her head. "I don't pick on my little brother. He's the one who starts it with me! Though, in light of what happened, I should be more…" Yumi stops as she feels a lump suddenly form in her throat. "Yumi? You ok?" Ulrich asks after a couple of seconds. "Yeah, sorry. I guess I am lucky I still have a sibling and a family. Um, when do you want to meet?" Yumi replies. "I'll leave that up to you. You tell me when to be there and I'll be there," Ulrich says with lovingness in his voice. Yumi smiles and states, "Well, good for you! You've successfully learned how to relinquish control over to me! Another little thing you've learned to do before we get married!" Ulrich purses his lips as he realizes his girlfriend his right. "Humph. Well, don't go thinking you're gonna be Queen-of-Me that easily, Yumi. I do have two words for you: Tickle. Spot. Remember them well!" Ulrich hears her giggle and sees Odd heading back to the table carrying two orange juice boxes like trophies. "When do you want me to come over?" Ulrich asks. Yumi glances at herself in the mirror and replies, "Just whenever. But don't show up at seven-thirty tonight!" Ulrich rolls his eyes and states, "Of course not! I'll be over as soon as I finish breakfast…. Er, finish watching Odd eat breakfast, rather." Odd perks up at the mention of his name and gives Ulrich a curious look. "Ok, Sweetie, don't take too long. I wanna see you!" Ulrich hears Yumi say sweetly. "Will do, Hon. Love you! Bye!" he replies. "Ok! Love you, too! Bye!" Ulrich hangs up the phone and sets it on the table. "I heard my name," Odd says inquisitively. "Yeah. It was in the same sentence as breakfast. Or did you not hear that?" Ulrich replies. Odd gives him an innocent look. "No…." he replies simply. Ulrich sighs and shakes his head slightly. "Just finish your meal, ok?" he states blandly. Odd smiles and nods, then begins to chug one of the orange juice cartons.

Jeremie gently rocks his pink-haired girlfriend as she clings to his neck. "Why? Why did she have to do that?" comes a slightly muffled question. Jeremie sighs and gently rests his chin on her head. "Because she thought that was the only way to save us; to save you," he replies. "But… but I didn't ask her to!" Aelita exclaims and turns her head to look across the room at the table that still stands in the center of the room with all the party stuff still on it. "None of us did and none of us could have ever asked her to. I know I couldn't have," Jeremie states and gently rubs her back. Aelita sniffs then rubs her nose with her hand. "I miss her so much, Jeremie. I wish I could turn back time and find another way to beat Thadeo." Jeremie gently squeezes her comfortingly and she continues, "But… I can't. No one can." Jeremie sighs and says, "I still feel like I could have done more to save her or bring her back, but… I… just… couldn't. You have no idea how useless I felt being only able to sit there and watch helplessly. Broke my heart to see her go and, more than that, to see your heart being broken like that again. If I would have had more time, I probably could have saved her, but she was fading too fast….. I'm sorry, Aelita. I'm sorry I wasn't a good enough genius to save her! I'm sorry that I'm not competent enough to…." Jeremie gets cut off by a finger pressing against his lips. "Shhh, no, Jeremie, don't say that! You're not incompetent and you are a good enough genius!" Aelita says looking into his eyes lovingly and removes her finger from his lips. "Please don't say stuff like that. It's not your fault, so don't beat yourself up about it." She gently runs her fingertips down the side of his smooth face. He lowers his eyes and tries to get himself to believe her words. "I love you, Jeremie, and if anything, I should be the one apologizing, considering how I treated you last night." Jeremie lifts his eyes and meets her gaze, then a soft smile forms on his lips. "You don't have to apologize, Sweetie. I should have realized that you wanted to be alone for awhile. Sorry." She smiles and rests her hand against his cheek, then kisses him on the lips. Jeremie blinks, mildly stunned, after she pulls away. Aelita giggles softly and says, "Still not quite used to that, are you?" Jeremie shakes his head and replies, "No, not really. And honestly, I don't want to get used to it. The day I do, will be the day I start taking it for granted. I don't want to do that. You're too special to me to be taken for granted." Aelita presses her lips together and blushes slightly. "You're so sweet…" she says. Jeremie shrugs and replies, "I'm just being honest." Then, a knock on the front door catches their attention. Aelita stands and walks over to the window, then peers out to see who it is. She smiles and opens the door to let Yumi and Ulrich in. "Yumi! Good to see you!" she says, giving the Japanese girl a hug. Yumi returns the hug and replies, "And you too!" Aelita then steps to Ulrich and gives him a hug also. "Ulrich, glad you came too!" Aelita says as he hesitantly returns the hug. "Yeah, thanks," he says. Aelita returns to Jeremie's side and Yumi and Ulrich sits down next to each other in a couple of the chairs from Atilea's anniversary party. "Where's Odd?" Jeremie asks, wrapping an arm around Aelita's shoulders as Aelita lays her head against his shoulder.

"Odd got busted by Samantha trying to sneak an extra helping of oatmeal out of the cafeteria," Ulrich replies, with a strained smile on his face. Yumi fails to contain a giggle and Jeremie shakes his head. "Why am I not surprised?" he asks blandly. "Because that is the nature of Odd," replies Ulrich, then he sighs and glances at the floor. A moment of silence falls on the group of friends before Ulrich looks up at Aelita and Jeremie. "So, how are you doing, Aelita?" he asks. Aelita inhales and exhales deeply before answering, trying to keep her emotions under control and not let them overwhelm her. "I'm better. Though, I miss her so much. She… she was the only blood family I had left. Well, I say blood family, she wasn't really. She was a clone, a copy of me, but she made the choice to start making her own decisions and live her own life. And Atilea became my twin sister. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you guys aren't my family, because you are. You have been there next to me for… what seems like forever, and I wouldn't trade any of you away for the world. You have been so kind to me and so caring. I just don't know how to thank you properly for all that you've done," Aelita says. Yumi leans closer to her and says, "You don't have to. You are our family too, Aelita. Families stick up for their own, despite what calamities arise against them. Especially when one of their own suffers a loss." Yumi leans back, glances at the floor, and continues, "But this time, all of us were hit with loss. All of us were close to Atilea, granted some closer than others, but we were all… we all…" Yumi stumbles on her words and Ulrich wraps an arm around her as she tries not to let herself get overwhelmed by her emotions. "I told Yumi this last night, but I'll never… look at a dandelion the same ever again," Ulrich says, his voice beginning to tremble. "She gave her life willingly to save us all, without us asking or demanding it from her," he finishes, then looks over to Jeremie and notices that he is very quiet. "You ok, Einstein?" Jeremie lifts his eyes to look at his friend and shakes his head. "I wish I could say I was, but I can't. Despite the numerous times you all have told me that it wasn't my fault, I still feel somehow responsible for Atilea's death. I still feel like I could have or should have done more to save her! But… I didn't…" he says, trailing off. "Hey, you did all you could, Jeremie. Don't beat yourself up about it. Sometimes our best just isn't enough. We all know that, but I know for at least for me and Yumi, we learn from it and grow," Ulrich says encouragingly to him. Jeremie half-smiles at him. "Thanks, Ulrich. And I want to say this, right here, right now," Jeremie states and looks at his pink-haired girlfriend leaning against his chest. "Aelita, I promise I will find a way to bring her back to you." Aelita blinks and sits up to look him in the face. "What?" she states, barely able to get the word out of her throat. "I'll use all the knowledge I have and ever will have to bring her back home to you. Someway, somehow, I will do it! For you, my princess, my love," Jeremie continues. Aelita stares at him in shock, unable to respond. "I may not be able to bring back your dad, but… but your sister…. I will…" he says, trying to hold back the tears that have begun to well up in his eyes. Aelita's stunned look fades into a loving look and she searches for any words to express her feelings. "Oh, Jeremie…." is all she can say before the two embrace. "I will do my best to bring her back, I promise, and this time, my best WILL be enough!" he exclaims confidently. Ulrich and Yumi glance at each other and smile. After a minute, Aelita pulls back from Jeremie and asks, "You really think you can?" Jeremie pauses a second, then replies, "Yeah. Her DNA hasn't been used to make a Seal to place on X.A.N.A. and also I stored that DNA sample from her hair brush in the protected section of the computer. It'll take some time, but eventually I'll do it. Just like when I sought for so long to find a way to bring you back here to the real world."

"Um, a little off topic here, but how far along are you on the Second Seal?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie and Aelita look over at him and Ulrich sees a confident smile cross Jeremie's face. "It's almost done. If things go well and X.A.N.A. doesn't get any crazy ideas, it should be finished in a couple of days," her replies. Aelita gets a surprised look on her face. "You got that far on it? How did you do it?" she asks. "Um, well, I got a lot done on it this morning. I couldn't sleep, so I snuck out of the dorm at four o'clock this morning and went straight to the factory. I worked on it until, well, until you called me this morning at, what, nine?" Aelita's jaw drops. "Four o'clock!" she exclaims in disbelief. He nods sheepishly at her and gives her a nervous grin. "How'd you get past Jim?" Yumi asks. "Well, honestly, it's kinda become second nature to be able to sneak past him," Jeremie replies. Ulrich sits back in his chair and shrugs, not really having anything profound to say. "Well, I'm impressed. Maybe you can show me how to do that," he states. Yumi turns her head to look at him. "And go and do what?" she asks. Ulrich pauses, then looks at his girlfriend. "Oh, I don't know. There is this Japanese girl I might go and see, but I don't know," he replies, secretly joking. Yumi raises an eyebrow. "MIGHT go and see?" she asks. A devious grin spreads across Ulrich's face and Yumi slugs him in the thigh with her fist. "Ow!" he exclaims, giggling. "You deserved that!" Yumi states, trying to contain her own giggling while trying to look mean and upset. Aelita giggles at them and smiles, shaking her head. Then, the glint off the pink and silver box catches her eye. She leans over and picks the box and its key, along with the now wilting dandelion that sat on top of it. Aelita turns and sits on the sofa, cradling the box and clutching the key. Jeremie swallows and watches her nervously as Yumi and Ulrich shift uneasily in their chairs. "Um, if you want us to leave, Aelita…." Yumi states. Aelita looks up at her friends and sees how uncomfortable they are, then sets the box down on the cushion next to her. "No. That's all right. I can open it later," she replies and holds the wilting dandelion in between her fingers. "I really need to spend time with my friends." Aelita smiles at them and gently sets the dandelion on top of the box before getting up and walking over to the table in the middle of the room. She pauses briefly before closing the lid on the partially eaten cake. "I've also have to put this away before it ruins," Aelita states as she picks up the cake box. Yumi stands and reaches for the box. "Here, let me help, Aelita," she says. Aelita hesitates then lets Yumi take the cake box from her. Ulrich glances at Jeremie and sees him sigh worriedly. Ulrich waits for the two girls to leave the room before speaking. "She's a tough girl, Jeremie, but she does have a limit," he says. Jeremie nods and sighs again. "I know. I just hope I'm able to help her hold herself together like I did when her dad died," Jeremie replies. "You can. And we'll be there when you need us to help," Ulrich says. A short pause passes and the two girls return to begin to clean the rest of the party stuff up. Ulrich smiles at Yumi as she tries to wave at him while carrying several cups and plates. Once they leave again, Jeremie says, "Thanks, Ulrich. I'm gonna need all the help I can get. Um, hold on a moment. Aelita, Ulrich and I are going to step outside for a minute, ok?" Aelita's head leans into view and she nods. "Ok, " she replies simply, then disappears back into the kitchen. Jeremie motions for Ulrich to follow him as Ulrich gives him a skeptical look. The two exit the Hermitage and Jeremie walks to the porch railing, then grips it with both hands tightly. "Truth be told, Ulrich, I don't think I can bring Atilea back. Ever," he says sadly. Ulrich frowns in concern for his friend. "Why do you say that?" he asks. "These seals, they are taking massive amounts of memory and processing power to compile. I just don't think the computer can handle the task anymore. Ever since we've stopped using the Return to the Past feature, I've noticed that the computer has begun to, well, to put it simply, get bogged down. It hasn't been rebooted for… well ever since I shut it down after we got X.A.N.A. back on Lyoko and he managed to turn it back on himself. That's been a while," Jeremie replies, turning to face Ulrich. "Um, I know I'm not the genius here, but why should that matter? It ran for quite a while without us rebooting it. And that was before we learned that Aelita wasn't just a digital person, but a real one," Ulrich states. "True, but every time we used the Return to the Past, the computer increased in power and resources, remember? That's how X.A.N.A. kept getting stronger. There where more resources he could call on each time he attacked. Also, the Return to the Past cleared out the active memory of the computer, freeing up that much more resources. I shouldn't have to remind you what'll happen if we use the Return to the Past now," Jeremie replies. Ulrich sighs and says, "Yes, I know. The Seal would be broken and X.A.N.A. would be free to escape again. I just… hate to see you end up breaking your promise to Aelita to bring back Atilea. It seems as though you made a promise to her that you can't keep." Jeremie presses his lips together and pauses, then hangs his head. "Maybe," he states sadly. "I just wish there were a way to increase the computer's power without having to use the Return to the Past." Ulrich thinks for a moment. "Why can't you just install more memory in it?" he asks. Jeremie turns to him and responds, "Several different reasons. First, Dr. Hopper made his own parts and despite my technical knowledge, he made it so that the technology of the computer can't be easily copied. Your typical, run-of-the-mill memory chips won't fit in it. Secondly, I'd have to turn off the computer to install it. That would have the same affect as activating the Return to the Past on the Seal. Thirdly, just adding memory won't give the computer the necessary boost it needs. It also needs more processing power and an increased amount of throughput on the local buses to handle the increased amount of data traveling along them." Ulrich blinks, trying to follow Jeremie's explanation. "Um, sounds like you need another computer linked to it to take some of the strain off the main computer," Ulrich states after a brief pause. Jeremie blinks and tilts his head slightly in curiosity. "Another computer? Ulrich, I may be able to use the quantum computer, but I can't build another one! First of all, I don't have the resources that Dr. Hopper had, financial or otherwise. He was working off a military grant; I wouldn't be. Then, there's the level of technological fabrication that would be involved in making….." Ulrich waves a hand to stop his genius friend's speech. "You've got your computer in your dorm room hooked up to the quantum computer, right?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie gives him a dubious look, then replies, "Well, yes, of course, you know that. Why?" "Well, what's stopping you from either using that one or hooking another up onsite at the factory and use it to handle some of the tasks?" Ulrich asks. Jeremie ponders the idea and glances through the window to see Aelita and Yumi sitting in the living room talking. "It would have to be a big computer or a conglomeration of many computers to help out, but it is worth a shot," Jeremie replies and turns to Ulrich. "But where are we going to get them? I don't think the school's just gonna let us use the computers in the labs, even if we got Principal Delmas on our side. Even he has to go through the school board to get major things approved and something tells me he would have a hard time giving them a good reason, despite knowing everything now." Ulrich half-smiles at him and replies, "Well, word has it that the school is going to upgrade all the computers in the labs shortly. Now tell me, what does the school usually do with the old ones?" Jeremie sighs and states, "They give them away." "Exactly. There's roughly thirty computers, not counting the laptops in the science building that are used there," Ulrich adds then he notices Jeremie's skeptical look. "Come on, Jeremie. It's worth a shot, you said. Besides, I'm just throwing ideas out there. At least consider it more than you have. I mean, it's Atilea's life we're talking about here," he adds. Jeremie glances at him and frowns. "You became attached to her, didn't you?" Jeremie asks. Ulrich is taken aback by the question and gives Jeremie a stunned look. "Well, not in the way you're insinuating, Jeremie! She was a good friend that made the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, not just me! I love Yumi with all my heart and I would never let another woman get in the way. Atilea was just a bit ignorant of some of the social protocols we have here," he replies. "I'm not so sure she was ignorant. From what Aelita told me, she practically ignored at least two! Then, went one step further and, well, you know," Jeremie states. Ulrich frowns and asks, "How did Aelita know about that?" Jeremie chuckles once and replies, "They were sisters. They told each other everything, from what Aelita says. Look, I know you didn't do anything to make Atilea kiss you, I understand that. I don't blame you. But even I saw that you became close to Atilea, even before she told Aelita what she did." Ulrich sighs gruffly and turns from him to stare out across the Hermitage's yard. "You didn't see her die, Jeremie. It was painful to see her blow herself up to stop Thadeo, but that didn't compare to watching her die right in front of her sister like that. You didn't spend as much time with Atilea as Aelita and I did, so I guess I could see where you thought the two of us where closer than we really were," Ulrich states and Jeremie sees an upset look flash across his face. "Look, I'm sorry I said what I said. I'll do my best to bring Atilea back and to finish the last six Seals," Jeremie says and lays a hand on Ulrich's shoulder. Ulrich turns and looks at him, then replies, "You better. I'm gonna make sure you keep your promise to Aelita. She doesn't need anymore heartache." Then, a half-smile forms on Ulrich's face and gently pats Jeremie's shoulder. "Come on, let's go back inside. Our girlfriends are gonna get lonely without us!" Ulrich jokes and sees a reluctant smile form on his friend's face.

The next day, Aelita glances over herself in the full length mirror that stands in Atilea's former room. She smoothes her skirt out and brushes a stray strand of her pink hair out of her eye. It was a sunny Sunday morning and she found the quiet of the huge old house rather unnerving. Jeremie was off at the factory working on the second Seal, Ulrich and Yumi were at her parents house for a picnic, and Odd, well, who knows. He could be still in the 'dog house' Samantha sent him to or he could be still sleeping. Aelita glances over herself one last time before turning, picking up the photo of her and Atilea, and heading out of the room. She walks down the stairs as memories of her childhood and the time she had with her sister run through her mind. Once at the bottom, she walks to the sofa and picks up the pink and silver box with its key. Aelita clutches the box tightly as she heads out the front door and around the side of the house. She glances at the cement picnic table and visions of the entire group, including Atilea, laughing and enjoying themselves run past her eyes. Aelita then turns to the white picket fence nearby and swallows, feeling a lump begin to form in her throat. She walks slowly up to the gate and reaches for the latch. She pauses before opening the gate to glance at the picture she held of her and Atilea. "Just as I promised, Sis, I'm… taking you to see Mom and Dad," she whispers as a tear suddenly falls from her eye and hits the glass of the picture frame. Aelita pushes past the emotional flood and opens the gate then steps through. She closes the gate behind her and hugs the box and picture to her chest as she gazes at the two headstones in front of her. She almost has to force her legs and feet to take steps towards them, but when she reaches them, she falls to her knees between the graves. Tears cloud her vision as she sets the box and picture down on the ground. Aelita wipes her eyes with the back of her hand and then stands the picture between the headstones. She swallows, trying to moisten her throat so she can speak. "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry it has been a long time since I visited, but I'd like for you to meet my twin sister, Atilea. She was…. the best sister I could have ever… had," Aelita says glancing between the two headstones. "I want to tell you… what she did for all of us; to tell you of her sacrifice to save us."

Ulrich glances at Yumi who has seemingly drifted off into space. "Hey, you ok?" he asks. Yumi jerks her head and shakes it. "Oh! Uh, yeah, fine. Why?" she replies. "Well, you were just staring off into space with this blank look on your face," he states, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. Yumi smiles and looks at her plate in front of her. "Well, kinda. I was actually watching Hiroki play over there on the swings. Ever since Atilea's death, I've been seeing my brother in a different light. Granted, he can be annoying as ever, but I've found myself being more… tolerable towards him. Look at him, Ulrich. He's a happy, ten year old boy without a care in the world. He's annoying, gets into my stuff, teases me about you, though, he's actually gotten away from that and has been enjoying the fact that you are around. But all that doesn't matter anymore. He's my brother and I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him. I just don't know if I could handle it as well as Aelita has handled her sister's death," she replies, playing with a lone potato chip on her plate. Ulrich smiles as Hiroki struggles to get the swing going, then lets out a sigh. "Why don't you go over there and spend time with your brother, Yumi?" Ulrich asks, gently patting her shoulder. Yumi turns to Ulrich and starts to say something but the warm look on his face causes her just to smile. She leans over and kisses him quickly before standing and walking over to where Hiroki is swinging. Ulrich smiles as he watches she gently gets Hiroki swinging properly, then take a swing next to him and begin to swing herself. "Would you like more punch, Ulrich?" comes a voice from in front if him and he turns to see Mrs. Ishiyama standing holding a pitcher of red punch. He smiles politely and nods. "Thank you, Ma'am," he replies politely and she takes a seat across from him. "You're welcome, Ulrich. Where did Yumi get off to?" she asks. Ulrich motions to the swings and Mrs. Ishiyama turns to see Yumi and Hiroki swinging and laughing together. "Well, there's something I don't get to see very often. Yumi and Hiroki getting along. Huh," she states in mild awe. "I think the last time I saw them get a long was on Hiroki's primary school graduation night." Ulrich chuckles inwardly and takes a sip of his drink. "It must be lonely to be an only child," Mrs. Ishiyama states. Ulrich glances up at her and shrugs. "Kinda. But, I guess I kind of know how it feels to have a brother having Hiroki around," he replies. "Well, I do know that Hiroki does see you as a big brother. Which is a good thing, now that my husband and I have gotten to know you better. Speaking of my husband, where is he? I asked him to get me the hot dogs out of the freezer several minutes ago. Oh, he better not be reading the financial section of the newspaper again….Takeo Ishiyama!" Mrs. Ishiyama says and gets up from the table. Ulrich chuckles and shakes his head. Strange. It felt odd to be around a family that seemed to care for him and not demand perfection from him every single waking hour of the day. Not that he didn't think his own parents didn't love him, but it was nice to not be pressured to be perfect. He returns his gaze to Yumi and her brother, who now are having a contest to see who can swing the highest. Yumi turns her head and waves to him as she reaches the apex of her swing. He laughs as she yelps at the sudden jerk of the chain. She slides her feet on the ground to stop herself swinging as Hiroki laughs in victory at going the highest. Yumi walks over to Ulrich and slides down next to him, panting. "Geez, I forgot how dangerous swinging can be!" she states, trying to catch her breath. Ulrich starts to say something, but a yell from Hiroki catches his attention. "Hey, Ulrich! I beat my sister at going the highest on the swing! I bet I can beat you too!" Ulrich glances at Yumi and she shakes her head, not wanting to get involved. "OK, you're on!" Ulrich replies and stands. Yumi raises an eyebrow and looks up at him. Ulrich smiles at her and hears Yumi's mom and dad exit the house. "Be right back, Yumi. I guess it's gonna take someone who isn't afraid of the dangers of swinging to beat him! I'll avenge you and regain your honor!" Ulrich says gallantly. Yumi runs her tongue on the inside of her cheek. "Oh, my hero," she replies sarcastically before giggling. Ulrich chuckles and walks over to the swings as Hiroki stops his swing and prepares to challenge Ulrich. He gives Ulrich a defiant growl as Ulrich takes a swing, then Ulrich gives him an equally confident smile.

Odd stretches and lets out a big yawn, then feels Kiwi nuzzle his ribs with his nose. "Whoa! Cold nose! Cold nose! Cut it out, Kiwi!" he says, gently shoving Kiwi's muzzle away. Kiwi lets out a happy yip as Odd begins to scratch behind his ears. Then, Odd hears his cell phone ring and he leans over to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Morning. Did I get you up?" comes Samantha's voice.

"Um, not really. I actually just woke up. Whatcha doing, Sam?"

"Waiting for you."

Odd goes pale and tries to remember if he promised Samantha he'd do anything with her today. "Whatever I forgot I promised I'd do with you today, I'm sorry!" he quickly says. A giggle comes from the other side and Odd frowns, realizing that she was only messing with him. "That wasn't very nice," Odd states blandly. "Just keeping you on your toes, Odd. Actually, I called to see if you'd help me with my Italian vocab words. I'm having trouble with, well, all of them," Sam replies. Odd chuckles and says, "You sound just like Jeremie, except you've asked for help. He hasn't. Sure, I'll help you. Just give me a little time to get showered and dressed, then I'll be right over!" "Ok. Also, don't stop and eat anywhere. I have breakfast waiting here for you," Sam says and Odd's eyes perk up. "Really? Gee, thanks, Sam!" he replies and slides out of the bed. "Yeah, now hurry up, ok?" she replies. Odd smiles and says, "Sure. Talk to you later. Bye!"

Jeremie shoves himself back in the computer chair at the factory. He stretches and hears his back pop. "Ahh, that felt good…" he whispers. He drops his hands into his lap and smiles at the monitor. "Almost done. Gotta make sure the guys are able to be here when I activate the Seal. But one thing bothers me. Why isn't X.A.N.A. trying to stop me?" he wonders. Then, Jeremie pulls himself back up to the keyboard and begins typing away. A chat window pops up and Jeremie types, "X.A.N.A., are you there?"

_What do you what, Human?_

Jeremie freezes for a second before continuing. "I just wanted to know if you were still around, I guess. You've been usually quiet ever since Imuy…. Never mind."

_Do not concern yourself with me. You most likely wanted to know if I were planning some way to prevent your second Seal from being activated._

"Well, yes, I do. However, I doubt you will tell me if you are or not."

_Humph. You are correct, Jeremie. However, you humans did hold up your end of our bargain and for that, I thank you. Now leave me. I wish to be alone._

"This is kinda out of character for you, X.A.N.A. Is it because you saw what Atilea did to save us all?"

_As I said before, do not concern yourself with me. And yes, I did see what she did. Now, go away._

And with that, the chat window closes and Jeremie frowns in concern. "Great. Better hurry up and finish this before he does do something to stop me." Jeremie begins to type away at the keyboard again, now working more intently than before.

Four hours pass and Yumi fidgets with a dandelion she picked earlier. She stares at the little yellow blossom and smiles slightly as her mind replays images of Atilea giving her a dandelion to put in her hair. Ulrich exits Yumi's house after helping her mother and father clean up the picnic table. "Hey, whatcha doing, Yumi?" he asks. She looks up at him and smiles, then he sees the dandelion in her hand. Yumi slides the flower behind her ear and sighs. "That's beautiful," Ulrich states and helps her stand. Then, his cell phone rings just as the two are about to kiss. Ulrich grumbles and reaches into his pocket to pull out his phone. "This had better be important," he says gruffly into the phone. "I, uh, well, yeah, it is," replies Jeremie's voice on the other end. Ulrich frowns and puts his phone on speaker phone. "Go ahead, Jeremie, but make it quick. Yumi and I are still at her house," Ulrich states and sees Yumi get a disappointed look on her face. "I just wanted to let you know that I've finished the second Seal! I want you guys to be here in case X.A.N.A. tries anything," comes the reply. Ulrich glances at Yumi and she sighs then motions that she is going inside. Ulrich puts the speaker back to regular earphone and says, "Fine, but you could have waited another hour or so. I was wanting to take Yumi to… our secret spot." Jeremie feels a pang of guilt and replies, "Sorry, Ulrich. I didn't know. But I really want this Seal placed before X.A.N.A. does anything. By the way, have either of you seen or heard from Aelita today? I can't seem to get her on her cell phone." "No, she hasn't been here or have called. She's probably at the Hermitage still but does have her cell on her," Ulrich says. "Oh, well could you do me a favor and swing by there on your way here and get her for me, please?" asks Jeremie. Ulrich sees Yumi exit her house and replies, "Sure, we'll drop by, but I can't guarantee she'll want to come." Jeremie sighs and states, "Ok, thanks, Ulrich. I'm gonna give Odd a call now. See you when you get here." Ulrich and Yumi sigh at each other. "I told my parents that you were taking me out to a movie and dinner afterwards so we're good for at least three hours," Yumi says. Ulrich nods and says, "Jeremie wants us to stop by the Hermitage and get Aelita. Apparently, she's either turned off her phone or she doesn't have it with her." Yumi nods and the two exit the Ishiyama's yard, then heads down the street.

Odd frowns and Samantha raises an eyebrow upon hearing Odd's cell phone ring. "Hello?" Odd answers. "Odd, good! Look, I've finished the second Seal. How soon can you be here?" comes Jeremie's voice. Odd cringes and replies, "Jeremie, I'm right in the middle of an Italian lesson! Can't this wait?" Jeremie pauses of a second then says, "Um, well, I really need you here in case X.A.N.A. gets ugly." Odd glances at a slightly frowning Sam and says, "Jeremie, I promised I'd help Sam get caught up on her Italian lessons and I can't just break away right in the middle of it!" "But I…." Jeremie starts. "How long will it take?" Odd asks. Jeremie pauses again. "Um, the actual application of the Seal shouldn't take more than a few minutes, but if X.A.N.A. begins to fight back, who knows?" he replies. Odd frowns at the answer. "Can't you go and do it without me?" "Well, yes, but if Ulrich and Yumi needs your help…" Jeremie starts. Sam sighs loudly and drops her pencil as Odd mouths 'I'm sorry' to her. "Odd, just go. I'll try to keep going on my own," Jeremie hears her say on the other end. Then, another pang of guilt hits him. "Look, Odd, I'm sorry I interrupted you two, but this is important. You can stay until the Seal is placed then you can go," Jeremie says. Odd nods and hangs up the phone. "I'm sorry, Sam. Jeremie's awfully persistent. I'll come back as soon as he's finished with me. Promise," he says to her with remorse in his voice. Sam sighs and relaxes, then gives him a soft smile. "Ok, but hurry back," she says, then leans over to him and gives him a small kiss on the cheek. Odd turns a bright red and gets a look of surprise on his face. "S—Sam!" he exclaims. She smiles and looks back down at her book. "Go, Odd. Your little genius friend is waiting for you." Odd nods and stands, still reeling from her small, but still surprising kiss. He glances back at her before leaving the room and sees her wave to him. He waves back and then heads down the hallway.

Several minutes later, Ulrich and Yumi stand at the main gate of the Hermitage. As they enter, Yumi notices that the gate to the fenced in area is open slightly. "I'll bet you she's in there," Yumi states, pointing towards the fence. Ulrich nods and the two cautiously head towards the gate to the fenced area. Upon reaching it, Ulrich pauses to listen through the cracked gate to see if Aelita is inside. He nods as he hears her voice, then hesitantly knocks on the gate. "Aelita? It's me and Yumi," he says. "What is it?" comes the reply. "Um, Jeremie asked us to drop by. He's been trying to get a hold of you to let you know he's got the second Seal finished," states Yumi. There is a moment of silence. "Aelita? Are you ok?" asks Yumi with concern in her voice. "Yes, I'm fine. Just give me a moment, please," Aelita replies. "Ok, Aelita. We'll be out here sitting at the picnic table when you are ready," Ulrich states. "Ok. Thank you," is the reply to his statement. Ulrich and Yumi turn and head toward the nearby table. On the other side of the gate, Aelita closes the pink box and locks it, then stands and brushes the grass off her skirt. She lets out a huge sigh and gazes at the picture of her and Atilea. "I'll be back later, Mom and Dad. X.A.N.A. is about to have another Seal clamped down on tight!" she says as a small, victorious smile creeps onto her lips. Then, she turns to exit the gate. As she exits, Aelita sees the slightly smiling faces of Ulrich and Yumi. "I'm ready to go. I wouldn't miss X.A.N.A. getting Sealed for the world!" Aelita says and her smile grows. Ulrich and Yumi return her smile and the trio heads toward the underground passage.

Jeremie smiles victoriously at his friends and shoves his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "You guys ready?" he asks. "You better believe it, Einstein!" pipes up Odd, who now has gotten really excited. "Um, Jeremie?" asks Aelita nervously. "Yes?" he replies. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to activate the Seal. In honor of Atilea," she says. Jeremie nods and smiles at her, then slides out of the computer chair. Aelita takes a seat and smiles at him, then turns to the screen.

The Inner Core of Sector 5. X.A.N.A. broods over the loss of all his children. Why? Why did they fail? Last time, he challenged them directly in the real world and lost. Then he reasoned that they would not be able to defeat themselves, so he created copies of all of them, save the human called Jeremie, but even still, they turned Atilea against him and forced him to remove his connection with her. But then, Dod and H'cirlu fused to create a being completely independent of his influence and was more powerful than he could have anticipated. Despite being completely overmatched, the humans managed to defeat Thadeo! Granted, it was Atilea's sacrifice that actually did the deed, but still, they won! It was so frustrating! What was it about this particular group of humans that….

_Wait, what is that?_

X.A.N.A. begins to quickly run an analysis. If he had the ability to gasp, he would have.

_NO! This is impossible! How did he finish the Seal so quickly! I have to find a way to stall it! I… nnngghh! Nnnnooo!_

X.A.N.A. feels the sudden restraint on his essence and tries to break free, but Aelita's quick thinking at the keyboard prevents him from slipping away. Then, the heaviness of the Second Seal causes X.A.N.A. to give out and a golden energy bar falls hard across the energy sphere that contains X.A.N.A.'s core intelligence.

The group watches the monitor intensely as the progress meter steadily makes it way across the screen. Then, it hits one hundred percent and a loud victorious yell from the group fills the room. Aelita hops down from the computer chair and throws her arms around Jeremie, nearly knocking him over. Ulrich and Yumi nearly get sent to the ground themselves from Odd's victory leaps. After a few more minutes of celebrating, Jeremie takes a seat at the computer and double checks the Seal. "Looks good! It's holding perfectly!" he states. "Never doubted it, Einstein!" Odd exclaims. Then, Yumi gets a curious look on her face. "I wonder why X.A.N.A. didn't fight back more than he did?" she asks. Jeremie chuckles and replies, "Well, we caught him off guard. I don't think he'll let that happen ever again, though. But, it was nice to have something finally go off without a hitch!" Aelita smiles and glances at the floor. "Atilea should have been here for this," she says and the room falls silent. Jeremie slides down from the chair and places his hands on her shoulders. "Yeah, she should have. Maybe one day she will be!" he replies and Aelita looks up into his eyes, then smiles. She wraps her arms around him and squeezes him tightly, causing him to gasp for air. "Aelita…! Air!" he gasps and she loosens her grip, then giggles at him. "Hey, Jeremie, I was wondering, how did you manage to get the Seal finished so quickly?" asks Ulrich. Jeremie looks up at him and smiles confidently. "I just took your idea from yesterday about hooking up another computer and put it into practice. I went to Principal Delmas and told him the situation. He let me have two of the spare computers in storage. He said if it were up to him, he'd let me have all the computers I wanted, but it might look suspicious on him if all of a sudden he gave me all the spare computers at once! Oh, and he said he was sorry that he wouldn't be here. He had to keep Sissi distracted today," he replies and then points to a corner of the room. The group turns and sees two computers standing next to each others with a mess of wires and cables running between each other and between them and the wall. "Hooked them up in a way that makes them act as one big computer instead of two separate ones, then I tied them to the quantum computer's core! I shunted several of the more remedial tasks to them and that improved the performance greatly!" Jeremie finishes and hugs Aelita gently. "Wow! I have no idea what you just said, but it sounded cool!" Odd says. "Um, I hate to crash a party, but I promised Sam I'd come back and help her once we got through here. Maybe later, the five of us can get together and celebrate properly." Ulrich turns to him and nods. "Sure. Sounds good to me," he states, smiling. Yumi nods and slips a hand around Ulrich's waist. Jeremie glances at Aelita and sees a bright smile on her face. It made him feel good to see her happy again. "Hey, I'll see you guys later! Bye!" shouts Odd and he takes off towards the elevator. "Well, if we are celebrating, Yumi and I will head into town and pick up a few things," Ulrich states. "Yeah, we'll get your favorite pizza, Jeremie, anchovies and escargot!" Yumi jokes, but tries to keep a straight face. Jeremie's smile disappears and a look of disgust appears promptly. Yumi fails to contain her laughter anymore and Jeremie gives her a disproving frown. "Ulrich, get your misbehaving girlfriend out of here!" he says. Ulrich nods while trying not to laugh himself, then takes Yumi by the arm and leads her towards the now returning elevator. After they have left, Aelita turns to Jeremie and smiles sweetly at him. "Thank you, Jeremie," she says. "For what?" he asks. "For being the most wonderful genius boyfriend I could ever ask for, and I know that you will find a way to bring back my sister. It may take a while, but I know you can do it! Now, I want to share with you what was in that pink box that Atilea gave me," Aelita replies and kisses him on the cheek. Jeremie blushes and allows her to lead him towards the elevator.

Meanwhile….

_They will pay. All of them. I will get my revenge! They were the ones responsible for the death of my children! If only they were not so close… wait… That is it… That is the way to defeat them and regain my freedom! Heh, heh, heh!_


End file.
